Wow! What a response this week from you all! I wasn’t sure which direction we would all take answering this question, but it was nice to see fairly spiritual and esoteric tone in many of the excellent posts i read. Thank you for digging deep and sharing such inspiration! I learned a few things this week, and in particular i was reminded of the important of balance, and purpose in life. We cannot be strong either inwards or outwards if we are living an unbalanced life, and equally, we need a direction, something to hold on to, something to aim for to inspire us and help us dig deep to give us a reason to push on. I was happy to see one or two posts speaking about how children can give us great inner strength, and yes what greater purpose is there then looking after our offspring!

SO thank you to so many of you who took part this week, and make the QOTW so exciting and valuable to us all. If you didn’t spot other posts, there linked below, definitely worth a look! If you do see a good post remember to follow them so you can see more of what you like in your feeds, and of course as always don’t forget to subscribe to the ecoTrain community so you are sure to catch the next QOTW and other posts coming up soon!

@josediccus

What is inner strength? In everyday activities, we need the zeal, the hunger and the reason to wake up and actually conquer the different stages and challenges that comes with life. People however needs higher resolve when the circumstance or a situation seems cumbersome or too much to accept, bear and tackle and that's when inner strength comes in. So what's inner strength? Inner strength is that extra resolve or doggedness that's deeply underlined in us and allows us face more distressing issues than we'd face in regular life. Inner strength comes when it seems all hope is actually lost.

@jemzem

Every one of us has different stories of success, failures, and sufferings. Since we have different life experiences, that means that we also have different coping mechanisms when we experience difficult circumstances.

While others might live their life to the fullest and can easily overcome all the challenges that come along their way, others were struggling to deal with every single obstacle that life throws at them. Being in an unavoidable, hopeless, and even in a common annoying situation, it’s our inner strength that helps us deal with those situations and lets us respond to it wisely, mindfully, and compassionately.

WHAT IS INNER STRENGTH?

Inner strength is the ability to handle those difficult challenges that life throws at us and having a core strength to hold on amidst hopeless and critical situations. It is also the capability to deal with difficult people with understanding and compassion.

@wakeupkitty

What is inner strength?

And how to find it?
My first thoughts: "Inner strength what do you mean? What are you talking about? I have no idea."

Do I have inner strength?
I really don't know. I have no clue what is meant with inner strength. Is it the power that keeps you moving on, forces you to get out of bed, or get into your car and drive to work? Is it the little voice that tells you you just need to keep busy and the depression will be gone before you know or is it me fighting for my right, for equal rights, democracy in a country frozen by fear?

I am a fighter.
I have always been. As a premature I fought, as a molested child I fought, as an adult, I did too. No, I didn't start wars but I fought for my life, and at times I simply left to stay alive. It's not that I never felt doubt or fear but it was what I needed to do for me. Me, being me was always more important to me as "agreeing", "crawling for someone", "begging"...

@sostrin

On April 26, 2003, Aron Ralston was canyoneering alone through Blue John Canyon, in Utah. While he was descending the lower stretches of the slot canyon, a suspended boulder became dislodged while he was climbing down from it. The boulder first smashed his left hand and then crushed his right hand against the canyon wall. Ralston had not informed anyone of his hiking plans, nor did he have any way to call for help.

The story of Aron Ralston was the first thing that came to my mind when I thought about inner strength. I equated inner strength with the will to survive… I dug a little deeper into this and it was more than just the will to survive. I think it came down to making a decision. Making a decision to do the right thing for the right reason. It’s a decision we would have a hard time making due to various external factors. In Aron’s case he made a decision to cut off his arm.I am sure he could think of many reasons not to, or why he could not do it.

So how do we Make a decision when it’s the last thing we want to do? Is it sheer will power? Is it indicative of our character?

@nainaztengra

Weak moments of life makes us feel so vulnerable and helpless. But then we all do have that one spark in our lives that fuel us up, and gives us the courage to keep going. Even in the most darkest hour and in the moments we feel that we are weak and there is no way forward this spark comes as a ray of hope and and strengthens us up and fuels us up. We all have that one spark for us, or what we can say that source of our inner strength.

For me my source is my Family, which is my Husband and my Son, and if I have to rank them, my Son is my biggest strength.
As such I am mentally very strong, yes but there are times when I go weak, and I feel a need of a support.
Support not in terms of doing anything, but just that someone to give me that extra boost mentally. And for me my Son is that one person or source whatever I can say to give me that boost. Just his presence around makes a lot of difference.

@zeleiracordero

We are gods playing at being humans?

To talk about where our inner strength comes from is to stop and think first about what the inner strength is and secondly where it is located, in order to then observe how it manifests itself in us. And from the reflective point of Ecotrain week's question it is quite interesting: Where do you think this strength comes from? Is it the same for all of us, or do we all find our strength in different ways? Is it a result of positive thinking and looking at things in an empowering manner? Does inner strength come from faith and hope in God or the divine plan? Does it come from the mind or the heart? Do activities like Yoga, Meditation, Sports give you inner strength? Or.. are we just born and predestined to be what we are because of our DNA?

But what is inner strength?

For me, the inner strength comes from our higher self, the divinity that inhabits us and strengthens our humanity. We all have God within us and it is that divine part of us that operates on our behalf at the necessary moments. "Ask and it shall be given you," this biblical phrase sums up in some way the click that is activated within us when we need extra help.

@belkisa758

According to what I read, it is about exposing here what we understand by inner strength and how we find it. Certainly everyone has a different way and here is the interesting thing about the query. Surely the exchange of experiences will allow everyone to enrich knowledge, refine techniques and strategies.

My mother always said: "If you want to succeed, focus on your desires and let your spiritual strength be stimulated and filled with wisdom. " Those words were enough for my brothers and I to look for ways to catch good energies.

My spiritual strength is stimulated by contact with nature. I learned several meditation techniques which I practiced for a long time in one of the schools where I worked. The technique of the mandala was one of my favorites as well as the technique of contemplation. Nowadays, during my walks in the mountains, I have not worked with the first technique but with the second one.

@truelovemom

Where do you think this force comes from?

We are pure essence, by giving what we are, we strengthen ourselves, our ideas flow without difficulty, at that moment we understand that our thoughts are what represent us and thus we have a different vision of things, leaving aside what our parents wanted teach us.

Is it the same for all of us or do we all find our inner strength in different ways?

The ideal is that we are responsible for ourselves, inside us is the necessary energy that makes us vibrate every day.

You can call it luck or you have been touched by a star.

We all have the ability to trust that the decisions made are the best.

@porters

I harken back to when I was on the edge of life (with poor quality) and death.

This happened after a car accident. I had broken my neck and was in acute care with the swelling up in my neck causing a paralysis from where my neck connects with my shoulders and down. I couldn't feed myself and even had trouble swallowing. I had to focus so I didn't choke.

My future was looking pretty grim and nurses would mention how often people who were immobilized succumbed to pneumonia. To me this was a way out if I couldn't face living being paralyzed.

But I had a reason to live - I had a son who was dependent on me.

So I reached deep within and called upon my inner strength to do what was necessary to pull through this. Fortunately I had a good circle of support for it was a long journey to recovery! You can read how I overcame paralysis here

@rosanite

Human beings develop an internal force or as they say the inner self, it is contained within our interior, that interior is like the central system that controls the balance we have in our body through an aura field and its physical body and through this conform a system of balance between the positive and negative energies of our being

Sometimes the internal force is altered producing an imbalance in our energy field or in our physical field because our energy is destabilized but at the same time our body through our actions reestablishes its energy balance in a positive way

Scientists express that the internal force that we possess is linked to physics since force = movement, if we move we exert force and internal = internal, that means, in psychology, our Ego.

They also combine it with the chemistry that we are made of atoms and molecules, with mathematics, astrophysics, but more with metaphysics and the study of the mind and body, in metaphysics it is said that it has to do with the perception of the person , your energy field and balance with your body - soul and mind