#5: when everything hits at once

I'm writing this from the hazy middle ground between being awake and asleep.

For the past 4-5 days, I've been stuck in that frustrating cycle where my body is in bed for 8-10 hours, yet my mind either refuses to shut down or feels too heavy to properly function. Then, right on cue, my immune system decided to join the party – fever, body aches, the works.

I could see it coming about a week ago; those consecutive sleepless nights were practically rolling out the red carpet for whatever virus was floating around. And yes, this is why this newsletter is reaching you a day late – it was supposed to land in your inbox yesterday, but my body had other ideas.

When it all converges

Life's challenges rarely arrive in an orderly fashion. Bad things often converge with almost cruel timing: you get sick (exhibit A: me, right now), something needs your immediate attention, or unexpected situations affect your finances.

You can't find the time to work on your goals, you can't keep all the promises you made, you feel exhausted, and also frustrated about not making the progress you want.

That's actually a feature of life, not a bug.

The universe doesn't check if your plate is already full before adding another helping of difficulty. When we understand this pattern, we can approach these overwhelming periods with a different mindset.

How to handle such storms?

During these convergences, I've figured that sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is simply endure. Not in a passive, helpless way, but in the active practice of perseverance:

• Do what you can. Sometimes that's just the bare minimum, and that's okay.

• Let the storm pass. No downpour lasts forever, though it may feel that way when you're soaked.

• Trust the process. Remind yourself of all the previous difficulties you've overcome.

I was chatting with a friend the other day who compared these periods to being caught in a rip current. They said, "Look, if you fight directly against it, you're just going to exhaust yourself faster."

Sometimes, the smarter approach is to swim parallel to the shore for a while, conserving strength until you can safely make your way back. Not giving up – just getting strategic about your survival.

The universality of struggle

There's something strangely comforting in knowing that these convergences of difficulty are universal. Everyone you admire, every successful person, every seemingly put-together individual, has weathered periods where everything seemed to collapse at once.

Resilience is about developing the quiet confidence that you have what it takes to make it through, even when the evidence suggests otherwise. And sometimes, in the process, you discover capacities within yourself that you never knew existed.

Until next time

If you're in your own personal storm right now, know that you're not alone in it. I'm right there with you, bleary-eyed, feverish, and weary, but still going strong (well, "strong" might be an overstatement – let's say "going").

Because that's what we do, isn't it? We endure, we adapt, we persist. We down another cup of tea, pop another paracetamol, and keep moving forward. And somehow, things work out as they always have before.

Until the skies clear.

PS: Rest when you can, not when you have to.