The Sweet Struggles

Last week I had taken a short break from work. This break gave me some “ME” time and I tried to reflect on many things. One of the obvious points which I delved upon was my career goals and the potential challenges and struggles involved in achieving them. While thinking about the word “Struggle” I suddenly realized how ingrained this word is in human life. While all Management Gurus over emphasize the importance of the word “Change” in our lives, they seldom emphasize the word “Struggle” in the same spirit. In fact the word “Struggle” can easily get a negative connotation, if not understood and appreciated appropriately.

The Struggles of Infancy:

We experience struggle from the time when we don't even know the meaning of the word. When a child is born, all the members around are filled with joy, but the new born is focused on crying at the top of his/her voice. While everything is happening for the good, we can presume that there is some fear/anxiety/newness due to which the new born is struggling to appreciate the happy side of the event and is expressing the same through the cry.  Then comes the struggle to express yourself when you can’t speak, reach your desired destination when you can’t walk, grab an attractive food item which you can’t eat or take possession of an attractive toy which is not meant for you. We all have gone through these cute struggles and I am sure the generations to come will also experience them.

The Struggles of Childhood:

Then comes the first day at school. Today if you look back, its just a normal event. However for 3 year olds, it’s a life changing event which brings with it the struggle of adjusting with a new environment which is different from the one known to him/her and which is governed by certain rules, instructions, discipline, code etc. This is the first exposure a child gets to the society and through this struggle, learns to interact, adjust, adapt, and negotiate with unknown people.

The Struggles of Adolescence

Here the struggles take a very critical turn as the child goes through physical, mental as well as environmental changes simultaneously. Many children struggle to respond normally to the physical changes they are experiencing. The road to managing parental expectations, peer pressure and adapting to a highly competitive environment happens to be a bumpy ride for many. This struggle is likely to become even graver with changing times. How successfully a child can navigate the life struggles in this stage, normally goes on to decide the road ahead as the child grows up into an adult.

The Struggles of Early Adulthood

One of the most happening phases of human life where life appears greener than the green fields, rosier then the red roses and happening like a fairy tale. Here the adult experiences energy, freedom, fun, frolic, love and romance which are beyond just infatuation. However this stage is also not free from the life struggles! The freedom to decide comes with the responsibility of owning up the implications of the decision. The youthful energy, if wrongly used can lead to a disastrous path. The love and romance calls for emotional sensitivity and long term commitment. This life stage is also a career establishing phase and hence is also a high pressure phase.

The Struggles of Middle Aged Adulthood

Here the key word is responsibility! You are responsible for your commitments at work; you are responsible for different stakeholders in your family (spouse/parents/kids/siblings); the society demands your time and attention for various projects. Here the real struggle is to sail through the mid-career crisis, to keep the romance alive in your marital relation amidst the varied responsibilities and commitments. The most critical struggle is to find time for yourself!

The Struggles of OLD Age

This is the withdrawal stage of life. Here the physical and mental energy starts fading. The winds of insecurity start invading our lives. The struggle here is to not let the insecurities invade our self-belief; not let the negative energies invade the positive intent of our mind; to keep the chin high and face smiling, inspite of all the adversities of life. The key is to not fear death, but embrace the remaining life whole-heartedly!

So the bottom line is that no human being, at whichever stage of life he/she may be, is averse to the reality called “Struggle”. It’s the way we approach this experience of struggle. If we treat it as life lesson then it will equip us for the bigger struggles of tomorrow. However if we treat is as a suffering then the only outcome is disaster. So let us all experience and enjoy the Sweet Struggles in our lives.