Next to the Royal Festival Hall, at London’s Southbank Centre, can be found a bronze bust of Nelson Mandela, bearing an inscription titled ‘The Struggle Is My Life’. It records his imprisonment, release, Nobel peace prize award, and inauguration as president of South Africa.
The quote comes from a press statement he issued in 1961*, in response to being informed that a warrant for his arrest had been issued. In it, he explained his reasons for choosing not to surrender himself and to continue his political work underground, summarised; ‘Only through hardship, sacrifice and militant action can freedom be won. The struggle is my life. I will continue fighting for freedom until the end of my days.’
‘The struggle’ is presented in the statement in a particular context, but it has since resonated with countless people struggling with countless challenges, and will continue to do so.
For me, it’s one of the most profound and inspirational quotes I know because it can be interpreted in many ways to apply to all sorts of situations, and in every one it serves as a reminder of innate human resilience.
The full statement, in the light of now knowing what Mandela accomplished during his lifetime after writing it, is a beautiful testament to the extraordinary power of purpose and hope. He was effectively revealing his capacity to win this fight because his hope to live in world in which the oppressed were freed, provided him with such purpose for his life that he was prepared to endure any amount of hardship and struggle to achieve it. Ultimately, he succeeded because he didn’t give up, which leads to another of my favourite quotes from him; “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
Falling down and getting back up again is a very neat description of a struggle, which naturally begs the question ‘what did it take to do that?’
Anyone asked that question when reflecting on what they’ve been through and survived to tell the tale, particularly at a time when they are struggling again, can find profound inspiration in their own answer – words which align with their purpose, hope and innate capacity.
If someone is telling you they’re struggling to the greatest extent they ever have, it becomes even more important to focus on how come they’re not struggling even more than that, or even how come they’re still alive to be telling you. The most difficult things we do in life shine the brightest light on our resources.
The sounds people make when they’re struggling, including the words they use to describe the pain, suffering and despair they are experiencing, are simply part of the process of their fight to prevail. The most helpful response we can give is one which demonstrates, alongside acknowledgment and compassion, our inspired confidence in, and curiosity about, their capacity as a human being to keep going, not give up, driven by whatever purpose they have for doing so.
* Nelson Mandela’s full statement can be found here: https://www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay/struggle.shtml
Keep Calm and Solution Focused 