Normalizing struggle and seeing the cycles of struggle.
There seems to be a taboo around challenges in life. We certainly get this from social imprinting. “Never let them see you sweat.” This causes the best of us to create a nice little reality that it’s supposed to always be easy. We’re supposed to be good at everything and not have any weaknesses. And if you find yourself up against some challenge there’s something wrong with you. “You’re such a fuck up.” is one of my old go-tos when I default back into the idea that I’m supposed to be perfect or different than I am.
Here’s my confrontation with you around that, struggle, challenges, and having issues are a part of the human experience and yet most don’t think this is how its supposed to be. So… not only do we not take advantage of the struggles we find ourselves in, we actually shame ourselves for struggling. What a fucking mess!?
News flash!!! Life is both challenging and life is calm and peaceful. This is a cycle. The challenging part is what I’m asking you to focus on right now.
Struggle is and can be good. Struggle is always the precursor to growth, to evolution, and the creation of the next version of ourselves.
The creation of tension, of strain, and pain leads to the filtering away of what’s important and vital and what’s not as meaningful. Much like when metals are processed to be made more pure or stronger they’re exposed to heat. This helps create the separation and melting away of impurities. It’s the tempering process. Our minds and our bodies are the same.
This is not something to avoid but to pursue. We certainly don’t need to chase trauma but to take advantage of the challenges that come our way. To make use of difficulties to open our minds to things that we hadn’t previously seen.
How can you recognize the potential in struggle and utilize it to create a better version of yourself?