NihshabdBlog

Tag: courage

  • The Hard Years: Not the Final Chapter

    The Hard Years: Not the Final Chapter

    Daily writing prompt
    What’s a chapter of your life you’d title "The Hard Years" — and what got you through it?
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    The Hard Years: Not the Final Chapter

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    Hard Years don’t always arrive with a warning. They quietly become a chapter of our lives where every day feels a little heavier than the last. If you’ve ever lived through The Hard Years, you know they don’t just change your circumstances—they change you.

    When Life Quietly Changes You

    Have you ever looked back and realised there was a season that quietly changed everything?

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    Not one terrible day.

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    Not one heartbreaking moment.

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    But a chapter that stretched longer than you ever expected.

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    If I had to give it a name, I’d call it The Hard Years.

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    They’re the years when you keep showing up, even when you’re running on empty. You smile because people expect you to. You answer, “I’m fine,” because explaining the truth feels exhausting.

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    From the outside, life looks ordinary.

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    Inside, you’re simply trying to make it through another day.

    The Battles No One Sees

    The hardest battles are rarely visible.

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    Someone is grieving while attending family dinners.

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    Someone is worrying about bills while laughing with friends.

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    Someone is carrying fear behind a perfectly normal conversation.

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    That’s the strange thing about The Hard Years.

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    They teach us how much people can hide behind a smile.

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    Maybe that’s why kindness matters so much.

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    We never really know what chapter someone else is living through.

    Hope Doesn’t Always Make a Grand Entrance

    Looking back, I realised hope never arrived like a miracle.

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    It came quietly.

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    A cup of tea on a difficult evening.

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    A message from someone who somehow knew I needed it.

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    The smell of rain.

    A familiar song.

    A peaceful sunrise.

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    None of these things changed my life overnight.

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    But they reminded me that even difficult seasons have moments worth holding on to.

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    Sometimes, hope isn’t about escaping the darkness.

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    It’s about finding one small reason to keep walking through it.

    The Chapter That Never Got the Last Word

    People often say difficult times make us stronger.

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    I think they make us gentler.

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    They teach us to listen more carefully, judge less quickly, and appreciate ordinary days we once took for granted.

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    Every life has a chapter called The Hard Years.

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    Some chapters last longer than others.

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    Some leave deeper scars.

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    But none of them were ever meant to be the ending.

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    One day, you’ll look back and realise those years didn’t just test your strength.

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    They revealed it.

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    And perhaps that’s the most beautiful plot twist of all.

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    The Hard Years were never the final chapter.

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    They were simply the pages that made the next ones worth reading.

    Until next story,

    Rajeshwari 🧿💕

    © Nihshabd by Rajeshwari

  • Where “Later” Quietly Cost Me

    Where “Later” Quietly Cost Me

    Write about a time when you didn’t take action but wish you had. What would you do differently?

    The Time I Chose “Later.”

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    It’s strange how most regrets don’t come from what we did
    but from what we kept postponing… very politely.

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    In love,
    I didn’t say it when it was still soft and simple.
    I waited—for the “right moment,” the perfect clarity,
    some cinematic certainty.

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    By the time I was ready,
    the moment had already moved on…
    like a train that doesn’t announce its last call.

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    Turns out, love doesn’t always need perfect timing
    just a little courage before overthinking takes over.

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    In education,
    I didn’t ask that one “stupid” question.
    You know the one—sitting at the edge of your tongue,
    but held back because “what will people think?”

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    Everyone else nodded. I nodded too.
    Understanding… optional.

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    Years later, I realised
    confusion doesn’t disappear when you hide it.
    It just becomes more expensive.

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    In health,
    I ignored the small signs.
    The fatigue, the “it’s probably nothing,”
    the habit of choosing convenience over care.

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    Nothing serious happened.
    But something subtle did
    I got used to neglecting myself… gently, consistently.

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    And that’s the kind of damage that doesn’t make noise.

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    In career,
    I didn’t take the chance.
    Not because I couldn’t
    but because I wanted guarantees.

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    I told myself, “I’ll try when I’m more ready.”
    But readiness is a moving target…
    it keeps shifting just enough to keep you still.

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    And the funny part?

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    None of these were big, dramatic failures.
    No disasters. No headlines.

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    Just small moments where I chose “later”
    over “maybe now.”

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    If I could do it differently,
    I wouldn’t try to control everything.

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    I’d speak a little sooner.
    Ask a little more.
    Listen to my body before it whispers louder.
    And take chances before they turn into “what ifs.”

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    Because life rarely collapses in one big moment.

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    It quietly changes direction
    in all the times we say

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    “Not now… maybe later.”

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    We spend so much of life waiting to be ready
    for the right time, the right words, the right version of ourselves.

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    But life doesn’t wait for perfect.

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    So the next time something in you says “maybe now”…
    don’t silence it with “later.”

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    Because sometimes,
    that quiet nudge is the moment itself.

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    A minimalist sunset scene with a person sitting by a lakeside, a notebook and pen on a wooden table, featuring the text “The Time I Chose ‘Later.’” and the name Nihshabd.
    The quiet cost of choosing “later.

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    —Rajeshwari 🧿💕

    © Nihshabd by Rajeshwari. All Rights Reserved