The Relentless Fight: Conquering Your Demons

On the first day of this month, a thought came to mind, and I shared it with some friends:

"As a man, you must fight your demons. You must handle your responsibilities, and you must defend your truth.  

No one is coming to save you, and no one is coming to make it easier for you. It's all on you. You must do your best, always trust in your God, and survive.  

Stay focused, and always take your steps, your actions, your shots, no matter how overwhelming or difficult it may seem.  

That’s the only way.  

If you choose to give up, know that you’re on your own."

Based on this, I’m writing today’s blog post to dig deeper into this truth.

The Hard Truth: No Easy Way Out

It’s a difficult realization to accept, but there’s no easy way out of the challenges and struggles you face in life. The only way is to face them head-on, take charge, and exert full control over the things you can influence. 

What exactly can you control?  

Your choices, your responses, your determination, and your actions. These are the tools you have. Mastering them is the key to winning your battles.

For example, imagine you’re facing a major life setback; whether it’s losing a job, a relationship falling apart, or financial difficulties. You can’t control the fact that these things happened, but you can control how you react to them. Do you spiral into despair, or do you pick yourself up and begin planning your next move? Every moment of decision (how you choose to act or respond) brings you closer to freedom or deeper into defeat.

Focus on What You Can Control

Focusing on training yourself to keep your choices, responses, and actions in check is where you gain power. Don’t waste energy obsessing over things outside your control, like other people’s actions, circumstances, or random events.

For instance, if someone treats you unfairly, you can’t control their behavior. But you can control your response; whether you choose to address it with grace, stand your ground, or let it go. What you can’t do is let those situations derail you emotionally or mentally. Fixating on them gives away your power.

The Danger of Denial

Refusing to accept that you have responsibilities to yourself such as making better choices or taking actions allows the external world to dominate your life. This is the beginning of a life without direction.

Think of it like driving a car. If you stop steering and let go of the wheel, the car won’t go where you want it to; it’ll drift or crash. It’s the same with your life. If you abandon control over what you can manage (your actions, your mindset, your habits) life will drag you wherever it pleases, and often, that’s nowhere good.

Your Path Out of Difficulty

The way out of your toughest circumstances lies with you. Your choices, determination, and actions are what carve a way through. 

When you’re facing difficulties, it’s tempting to believe the lie that "what will be, will be." This mindset is dangerous. It invites passivity and gives your power away to fate. The truth is, what will be is what you make it.

Here’s an example: When you lose motivation in pursuing a goal like starting a new business, learning a new skill, or achieving a fitness target, your challenges(demons as I refer to em) are waiting for you to give up and stop. The voice of doubt wants you to believe that it’s okay to stop trying. But what separates those who succeed from those who fail is the ability to push past that moment of doubt. They choose to keep moving forward, step by step, no matter how small those steps may be.

The Power of Persistence

If you stop, everything else takes control, and you become a passive pawn in the game of life. But persistence, continuing to walk, run, or crawl forward, is where true power lies. 

You don’t need to conquer your demons all at once. Sometimes, it’s about inching forward, even when you’re exhausted. For example, if you’re working on a difficult project or trying to improve a relationship, and everything seems like it’s falling apart, the key is to keep taking action. Whether it’s one small email sent, one phone call made, or one honest conversation had, progress builds over time.

Remember, stopping is the only thing that guarantees failure.

Be the Captain of Your Ship

You can’t allow yourself to be at the mercy of circumstances or other people by giving up on your responsibility to steer your life. You must actively take control of what you can influence. True freedom comes from the fight itself; pushing forward, believing, and persevering no matter what’s happening around you.

When you take steps, no matter how small, you exert control over your destiny. The mere act of taking those steps puts you back in the driver’s seat. It gives you the power to shape your future.

Let’s say you’re trying to save money but feel overwhelmed by debt. Rather than giving in to the despair of  “it’s too much, I’ll never get it right,” focus on what you can do today. Can you cut one expense? Make one small payment? Over time, these small actions compound, and before you know it, you’ve transformed your situation.

It's all in the little steps. Most people give up easily cos they feel like they need to work out their challenges all at once! It leads them to unnecessary worry and makes it easy to give up cos they can see the end clearly and are worried about it without understanding that the end is made up of little steps which adds up. Rome was not built in a day as they say!

The 100% Guarantee

If you commit to fighting your demons by taking the necessary steps (whether that’s through disciplined action, self-belief, or trusting the process) you’ll eventually break through any obstacle. The commitment to keep exerting control over what you can, by making those moves and taking those actions, guarantees success in the long run.

On the flip side, if you quit, if you stop, if you give up and leave things to chance, you’ve already lost. Your challenges will win.

You can’t do that.  You can't let that happen. We are all here to win and make some useful meaning out of our existence. You have to keep moving.

Keep Moving, No Matter What

Walk. Run. Crawl. But never stop moving towards your vision and your goals. Throughout your life, you must commit to “keep on keeping on.” Whether it’s in your career, relationships, health, or personal growth, you must keep pushing forward, even when the road gets tough.

Understand this: No one will do the work for you. You must carry your own cross and walk your own path. Along the way, the burden, demon or challenge will eventually die off, yielding to your resilience, consistency, and refusal to quit.

Everyone Has the Power

No matter how difficult your situation seems, or how much the external world tries to deceive you into thinking you can’t make it, everyone has the ability to overcome their struggles. Everyone can face their demons and win.

The purpose of this article is to remind you of that power. To make you aware that everything is possible when you believe and take the steps necessary to win.

The true winner, the one who values freedom and meaning, is committed to fighting their battles, no matter the odds.

That’s the only way.

Keep on winning! Win at everything! 

Fight your battles and make sure you win!

Until next time,

Ike.