“Every adversity, every failure, and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent greater benefit,” Napoleon Hill
Everyone goes through dark and difficult times. They are an inevitable part of life. But how we deal with them - and most importantly what we learn - is key to moving forward and getting back on track.
Why ME???
When you’re in the midst of a deep, dark storm the most natural thing to come to mind is to ask why. Why is this happening to me? I get it. That’s exactly what I’ve done when faced with difficulties.
But as I’ve moved forward in this adventure called life, I reflected and come to understand why certain things happened the way they did. It was all for a reason. The ugly messy times helped me to grow and to also better prepare for the next time the storm hit.
How do difficulties benefit you?
Difficult times can teach us so much.
They:
build our character
deepen our understanding of ourselves
teach us how to cope
up our resilience and wisdom stores
grow our compassion levels, helping us to help others during their hard times
enable us to realize the darkness doesn’t last forever and the light will eventually shine again
Take a minute now to think back to some of your most challenging times. Can you see the greater good that came from it? What did you learn? Did your life perspective change? I bet the answer is a big hell YES!
What to do when the darkness comes
Pain is a part of life and without it, we’d struggle to truly appreciate pleasure and joy. So when pain next hits, remember this: it’s up to you to decide whether you allow it to define, destroy or strengthen you.
It really all comes down to your mindset. Staying in the down days for too long can be detrimental. Our thoughts absolutely change our reality. You need to find something to be thankful for to help you get out of the rut. And there is ALWAYS something to be thankful for.
Let the gratitude in
Finding something to be thankful for in a negative situation can really get you through. Not so sure about that? Let me use a real life story to illustrate …
My mother was only 50 years old when she lost her battle with cancer. It was devastating. At that time, I just couldn’t see the positive in the situation. But after some time of feeling low and unhappy, I began to reflect back on the moment of her passing and I saw it in a new light.
She passed in the comfort of her home surrounded by family and friends. She wasn’t left alone for one single moment as we all took turns sitting with her even though at times, it was really crowded! But it was a house full of love and I know she felt that as she left us. And that is my something to be thankful for.
From of all of that, I also learned that finding a positive in the negative is a leadership attribute. I’ve made sure to keep that in mind when I’m helping others deal with their hard times.
Moving forward
Now, I’m not naive enough to think everyone will always find a happy ending. But I do know that at the very least, a dark time will always teach us a lesson, be it big or small. What so many of us learned from my mom was to live life to the fullest because you never know what’s around the corner. Oh and don’t sweat the small stuff sweetie!
If you’re going through a difficult time, I hope these words have helped in some way. Hold tight to the fact that the sun will shine after the storm and the birds will sing again!