You probably have discovered by now that struggles, whether they be financial, emotional, and spiritual, are part of life. Every human being, young or old, has gone to some degree of struggles in his or her life. Struggles can be hard, painful, and at times destructive. Some of us, if not most of us, will certainly do anything to not go through struggles. But I am here to tell you that, instead of having a bitter attitude toward struggles, you should actually embrace them.
“Embrace struggles? How can we embrace something that gives us pain?”, you are probably asking. Well, you can do so by looking beyond the struggle to understand that there is more to it than the pain you are experiencing. In fact, over the course of my life, I have discovered three things to be true in regard to struggles.
1. In Struggles lies hidden opportunities
Struggles help you discover and seize opportunities that otherwise would have stayed hidden. The great ideas and businesses we witness today mostly derived from struggles. In fact, it is very common today to hear stories of people who created apps and businesses to solve problems they were facing at one point in their lives. Airbnb, a popular platform for renting homes, is a great example. Airbnb founders came up with Airbnb after finding it hard to book a hotel room at reasonable prices in San Francisco. At the time, they did not have a job. Not having a job in a place as expensive as San Francisco is a real struggle. I can testify on that. However, had they not been broke and therefore unable to afford hotel rooms, Airbnb probably would not have seen the light of day. But today, we are so thankful it is around and we do not want it to disappear anytime soon.
2. Struggles build character
Struggles can sometimes put us in very embarrassing situations, but they are usually for our own good. In fact, without struggles, there are certain things we would not have learned. Struggles sometimes are necessary teachers for people. Take, for instance, someone who is used to recklessly spend money. Financial hardship will force that person to learn the importance of not only spending wisely but of saving money. That person will, therefore, come out of this financial struggle a better person. This was just one example of how struggles can shape someone’s character for the better. But, there are many other good character traits struggles can bring forth in someone such as resilience, patience, and humility.
3. Struggles develop your life story
Without struggles, your life story certainly would have been very boring. Struggles give you something to talk about and to share with other people. You can even use your struggles to help other people who are going through the same situation or something similar. Most motivational speakers we know today are using the lessons they learned through their struggles to motivate and inspire others. You can do the same.
As you can see, struggles are not all that negative. Good things can actually come out of them. My hope is that this article will help you change your view about struggles to realize that they are not there to break you, but rather to redirect you to higher grounds.