Embrace Life's Challenges

By: Lindy Earl

Everybody prefers the good and happy times over the tough and challenging times. It makes sense. We all want to be, if not happy, at least content. The question is how do we get there.

Some happiness comes naturally – graduations, weddings, babies, jobs, homes, vacations. These are all bathed in happy moments thus happy memories. Life, however, does not always provide a fairy tale ending.

Growing up we saw people who seemed happy. They had families and houses and cars and everything seemed to be great. Of course we never looked inside those homes. If we had, I’m sure we would have seen things that surprised us. Some very poor people were incredibly happy and there was abuse in some homes that seemed perfectly fine. Yes, there was discontent in wealthy homes where we thought life should have been great.

So here we are today. We all have our baggage gathered through years of living – work, relationships, and daily interactions have given us years of accumulated experiences, reactions, and thoughts. Yet I so often see that we manage to maintain hope and expectations, despite baggage. In our daily lives we might consider a good day one that is without problems. Is that really true?

I love the days when I can just wake up have a great quiet time and productive day at work, eat well within my diet, have a good exercise regimen, and feel great about my day. But on these days do I really grow? When things are good do I feel closer to friends and family? Or is it during the bad and challenging times when I grow closer to others and I grow as an individual?

If my boss were to just pat me on the back every day and tell me that I’m doing a great job, would I improve as a writer? I’m very sad when my work comes back with red marks all over it but, in reviewing the comments, there are times when I can easily see that he’s right. He definitely improved the document. With time, though, I have learned to stop and examine what he says. I am now comfortable enough that if he changes a word then I will stop and consider his edit and I have rejected some. I have kept the original word because I knew what I was trying to say. That’s growth. My growth has been in learning to write better as well as learning to stand up for myself when I know I did a good job. That’s hugely important growth! I could not have achieved it, however, without being challenged.

I don’t think any of us want to go looking for problems even if it means growth, but we don’t have to look for them because they are going to be in our life, probably every day. How do we recognize them?

Sometimes challenges literally slap us in the face. When a coworker or colleague or friend says something ugly, then there’s your trial. Sometimes the problem is more subtle such as the edits I receive. Sometimes they show up in the form of anxiety or stress. If you are feeling some kind of way then you need to stop, review it, analyze it, then embrace it. Be thankful for what you are learning and that you are about to grow.

We then have a choice of how to react. We can ignore a snarky comment, or challenge the person, asking them to repeat it or asking if they have a problem. Wow! That’s tough and I think I see it more in movies than in real life. We can think it over, take some time, and deal with it from a mature and well thought out perspective. We can choose to see it as an opportunity to grow. We can ask ourselves, is there truth here? Has this happened before? What can I learn from this experience? What is the best way to respond?

You can use anxiety as an opportunity to discern what may be a new and different option or opportunity. Accept the challenge then embrace the challenge. Really be happy, even excited, as new ideas form that wouldn’t have occurred without the problem. This way you will grow from the experience and you will be better able to handle similar situations in the future. Maybe there will be fewer edits, maybe there will be fewer comments, maybe there will be fewer slaps in the face. When they do come you will face them better. Then, when the next, inevitable challenge occurs, you’ll be that much better prepared to learn more and grow again. Embrace your challenges!