Introduction
I was 23 years old when I was told to choose between giving up on my sport or having a dangerous heart surgery. I decided to go through with the operation and immediately got worse. I thought my life was more or less over, but I managed to turn things around and do something good with it.
I had a rare heart disease that is more than 10 times the risk of me having a heart attack or a stroke. As an athlete, that is far from ideal, so I had to undergo surgery to fix whatever it was that was wrong with me. After not getting better for a long time, I had to change my outlook on life. I started looking for blessings rather than focusing on what had been taken from me in life, and all of a sudden, my life turned around. Today, I am advocating a positive mindset and seeking the good things in life rather than what weighs you down.
Fighting Depression with a Change of Perspective
I know how hard it can be to see things from a positive perspective when life weighs heavily on your shoulders. My father always told me that something good always comes out of the bad. However, years ago, I saw this video that completely changed the way I look at life. If you walk into a room only focusing on the furniture, you are going to miss all the beautiful art hanging on the walls. What I mean by that is, if you only focus on everything that is going wrong in your life, all the positives are going to slip right under your nose without ever getting noticed.
Working through the Tough Times
Nothing feels harder than trying to fight through life when everything seems to be against you. You want to curl up into a ball and do nothing, hoping that whatever problem you have will just disappear if you wait long enough. Unfortunately, life has a funny way of not letting you forget about the things you need to take care of. Never blame yourself for needing to take a break, but once you feel less overwhelmed, get back in the fight and do something about what is bothering you.
Grabbing the Problems by the Horns
Did you know that in the savannah, when the big scary buffaloes are sensing a massive storm ahead, their first instinct is not to run away from it? No, the buffaloes take action and run straight towards the thunder, the rain, and the wind. Through years of experience, they have learned that running away from the problem only hurts more because eventually the storm catches up with them and they have to endure it longer. Running face forward into the storm might hurt more in the moment, but once you are through the hustle, you do not have to worry about it again.
Conclusion
What I want you to take away from all of this, if I had to choose something specific, is that it is okay not to be okay. We all face problems, but you are never alone in this fight. We all go through life in one way or another. My advice to you is to try and look for the positives, even when life seems dark. Take a step back when things get overwhelming, but once you have your energy back, fight the problem head-on, and do not rest until you are through on the other side.
I have gone through a lot of hardship in life, and I have the competency to help others who are struggling as I have. If I can help save or improve someone’s life, I want to do so every day of my life until I am no longer able.
References
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Author Bio
Linus Kahl is a 25-year-old Swedish male who has been an athlete his entire life. He grew up early after the loss of his older sister, and he has gone through hardships in life after being declared medically dead for over 15 minutes when his heart stopped during a dangerous surgery. Kahl is now dedicating his life to try and make a positive change in people’s lives by sharing his experiences as well as methods on how to fight the negative thoughts we all have.
Published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license for mental health awareness with editorial review.