How long do I need to struggle to be successful!

If Everything Happens for a Reason, Why Does Life Feel Like a Struggle?

Think about this:?

Why are we so drawn to stories of people overcoming hardship to find happiness and success? Look at every great tale—it begins with someone paddling upstream, fighting an uphill battle until they finally break free.

But what if we’re the ones keeping ourselves in struggle mode??

What if life doesn’t have to be a struggle, and we’re just too afraid to let go and see where life’s current might actually take us?

We often say, “everything happens for a reason,” as if that phrase alone could make hardship feel easier.?

But what if struggle isn’t something we just get through—what if it’s something we’re actually holding onto?        

Struggle has deep roots across cultures, and its meanings reveal a common thread of going against the flow:

In Norse, struggle means pride, arrogance, and rigidity.?

In Greek, it is opposition and hardship

In English, it means to make strenuous or violent effort in the face of difficulty.

Each definition points to an inner battle, a resistance that keeps us locked in effort and tension rather than ease.?

Struggle is like paddling upstream with all your energy and willpower you have, head down, pushing forward, only to glance at the riverbank when you take a breath and realise you’re not moving forward at all.?

It’s exhausting.?

But we convince ourselves that at least we’re not going backward, right?? And so, we put our heads back down, ‘fighting the good fight,’ hoping one day it’ll pay off.

But here’s the catch—what if FEAR is what’s keeping us in that struggle mode??

The fear of failure, of losing ground, or even of what might happen if we stopped struggling. Fear is sneaky that way. It makes us believe that if we let up, if we pause or change course, we’ll somehow lose everything. But sometimes, it’s that very fear of going backward that keeps us from actually moving forward with joy, ease, or fulfilment.

Consider this: what if embracing the possibility that life doesn’t have to be a struggle could set you free?         

What if letting go doesn’t mean losing ground, but gaining a whole new perspective? Imagine floating with the current instead of against it, seeing the signs, reading the river.

?It’s less about giving up and more about letting life’s natural flow reveal new possibilities. When we open to the idea that life can support us, we stop wasting energy on the fear of what happens if we do

“What you resist, persists.” – Carl Jung

The opposite of struggle is to make peace with, to ease, to pacify.?

Imagine if instead of fighting the current, you chose to let go and trust where life might take you. What if letting go means you fall naturally into your true life path—a path defined by empowerment, love, and joy?

Letting go doesn’t mean surrendering or losing control. Instead, it’s trusting that everything actually does happen for a reason and embracing life’s guidance.?

From this place, you begin to make choices, not out of fear, but out of empowerment and understanding that you’re supported. When we ease into life rather than resist it, we make space for fulfilment, progress, and peace.

Struggling upstream may feel like progress, but what if ease and clarity come from moving with life’s flow and letting go of the control.

Drop a comment below—what do you think keeps you paddling upstream??

Or reach out to explore how to move from struggle to sustainable progress and joy.”

From Burn-Out to Break-Though.?

I help Business Leaders get Unstuck to Live & Lead by Design and not Default.?

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