Stair Master

I can almost see it, that dream I am dreaming, but there's a voice inside my head saying, "You'll never reach it."

Climb high - you can do it!

Life is a stairway to Heaven.
But the question is, are we really climbing it!
We often look at life and the troubles that we encounter as impossible feats to overcome. We see some extreme cases as tasks not even worthy of putting in our effort in order to accomplish. If we would only view them with a more positive pair of eyes, we would realize that they are not so difficult after all, and, with some degree of desire, we can find an alternative means of reaching even the highest levels of success.

There was once a king who had always wished to find his most loyal citizen so that he could reward him for his faithfulness. After consulting his advisers, a plan of action was designed to achieve this objective. A towering structure would be built in the center of the nation's capital. Leaning against this tall tower would rest a ladder with quite abnormal rungs - spaced five feet apart from one another. The task: whoever could reach the top of the tower would receive the honor of marrying the princess and earning great wealth. No sooner after the concept was publicized the tower was built. People by the hundreds flocked to the site to try their hand at climbing the ladder. As each person attempted to climb this most odd contraption, they would all fall down. Even the greatest, most athletic visitors found themselves climbing but a few rungs before dropping like flies. Each day, scores of people flooded the newly constructed square to take a stab at the ladder or merely to glance at the commotion.
Each day there stood was a man near the tower, gazing up and down the monstrosity. People would approach him and ask why he had not yet tried to climb the ladder.
"Are you going to try, or are you just gonna stand there?" they would ask.
"It doesn't make sense," the man replied. "The king is such a merciful and kind man. He would never give us a challenge that we cannot succeed! There MUST be a way up there!"
Finally, after several days of studying the area, the man walked around to the back of the tall tower and found a doorway that led to a stairway - and he successfully climbed to the top of the tower!

We can get to the top. We must get to the top. But the question is how we are going to get there. When difficulty strikes, and we look at it like a ladder that is insurmountable, take a step back. Look at it from a different angle. If you do, you may find an alternative way of overcoming it.
Tell yourself, "It isn't so bad. I can figure this out!"
Take it one step at a time. With each step, we become stronger. And stronger.

But I gotta keep trying - gotta keep my head held high. Just gotta keep going. And I got to be strong.

Say to yourself ten times today:
"Hashem, please give me the strength to overcome all of the challenges that come my way today!"