SEC - S15W3: Keep pushing, keep going, do not quit

From the moment we are born, we start our struggles. We must reach out to the breast and make efforts to suck the milk to our mouth. Even if the breast milk is difficult to come by, we will be the ones to keep trying until it eventually starts flowing into our mouth. I could remember when a mother gave birth and it was difficult for the breast milk to flow. Though there were some things that were given to the mother to help the milk to flow, she was always told to give the baby the breast to suck out the milk by trying.

One thing is certain about life and it's struggles, the saying goes that the stomach doesn't allow the hands and feet to rest. All what we are struggling for in life is so that we can have food, clothing and shelter. Such that even when clothing and shelter is satisfied, one still need to eat food continuously until one closes his or eyes in death. This is a fact about life. Even when there is no dependent relative, one must eat for sure.

The contest topic for this week in this wonderful community is all about life's struggles. With the aid of the contest tips, I will be able to explore this topic to the best of my ability

How do you understand the meaning of "Life is an endless struggle" in everyday life?

Life means an existence. It is used to denote an individual or an animal. It distinguishes animate and inanimate things. It is the opposite of death. One starts living as soon as he or she is conceived.

Struggle on the other hand means to make a great effort to achieve something. In this case, to keep living.

Life in this world can be hard, it can even bring tears and pain. But because we are meant to live, we struggle hard to ensure that we keep living. Viewed on the positive note, life's struggles make us stronger. In a bit to keep living, we put forth much efforts to survive.

Things in this life are not Rossy. That is why we keep struggling to survive. Hence,that statement means that we make consistent efforts to keep living despite the challenges of life. We struggle all through our life time because human needs are insatiable.

As already mentioned above that the stomach doesn't allow the hand and feet to rest, Man's needs are insatiable. One who is struggling to pay house rent will always pray to build his own house. If he eventually builds, he will pray that everything is fixed and thus be like the others. when he finally gets everything ready in it, he will be in fear of the armed robbers.

A friend told me that one man always have cash mapped out in his house for the armed robbers who regularly visits. He keeps money for them so that once they come, they won't injure anyone.

There are other things to care for. We have the kids to train, bills to pay, dependent relatives to care for, our old age is looming on the horizon. The truth is that we will keep taking care of our problems until the day we die.

Tell us about one personal challenge you are facing and your approach to it.

Life regularly presents challenges from time to time. When it looks as if one is solved, another one evolves. It is always from one story to another.

One of the problems that I face in meeting up with daily struggles is the unavailable of electricity in my area.

I have a business of producing and selling Handkerchiefs to shops, supermarkets and some petty shops. Apart from getting the materials I use for it, which is the major raw material, electricity is the next important. Without power, the weaving machine would not work.

Where l live, we hardly have electricity and the cost of buying fuel to power my generator is very high. By the time you factor in the cost of fuel and servicing of the generator, the price of a packet becomes very high.

With high cost of production, comes low income from the sales. So in the long run, the people that benefit are those you supply to.

Additionally, since I am producing on a small scale, spending much on production processes do not help me at all.

How do you overcome these challenges? Explain the concrete steps you have taken.

To help me manage the situation, I still buy fuel which is very expensive to run the weaving machine. A litre of fuel in my country is about 2.5 STEEM.

I only sell to customers who are willing to buy at my own rate which is higher because of increased cost of production.

I have to look for where I can get the material at a less expensive rate to help me reduce the cost of production. But that too is another problem because these materials are imported. So with the current high exchange rate of my country's currency to dollars N1500/$1, the cost is still crazy

The next option would have been to buy solar equipment and generate electricity with it. But to buy the one that can carry the machine would be up to N4,000,000 which is about 13,300 Steem. So as you can see, it is not possible right now.

This problem is still persisting. There have been no concrete solution to it yet. But I am hoping for the best.

Is there support from those closest to you in your struggle?

From the explanation above, you will notice that one major way to resolve this is buying a solar generator power machine and use it in production which requires huge funds.

So presently, there is no assistance from anyone closest to me since they don't have the financial power to assist.

I am working together with members of my family on this, so that they assist in any little way they can.

How do you maintain enthusiasm and motivation? Are there any special principles or values that help you stay focused on life's journey

Life itself is a struggle. This is a positive statement that is always on my mind. It keeps me stronger and helps me to keep pushing.

Reliance on the Almighty through prayer is key

I always remember the words at 1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has come upon you except what is common to men. But God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but along with the temptation he will also make the way out so that you may be able to endure it. NWT

These words infuse power in me and I am able to carry on.

It is not over yet, but I believe it will be over someday. Hence, hope is an anchor that stabilizes me when I feel like giving up.

Keep trying, keep moving, do not quit when you are tired but only stop when you are done. This is the slogan we use when exercising. There comes a time when the program you are given is so hard to complete. That saying helps a lot and so does it help me during difficulties.

	keep pushing

Conclusion

Life's struggles make us stronger. It helps us to be able to adapt and survive wherever and in whatever situation that we find ourselves.

Remaining positive will help us because we can't change it. We have to struggle in whatever we do to succeed even here on the blog. It is only important to rely on the Almighty to bless our efforts as we keep doing our best.

I invite @starchris @drhira @heriadi @pelon53 @mesola and @okere-blessing to take part in this contest. Success to you all!