Difficulties make you grow



I really like this quote by Mary Anne Radmacher and it inspired this poster. I took this photo yesterday on the shore of the St. Lawrence River. I thought the evening light made these stalks of grass look so lovely and delicate, like a Japanese brush painting.

Everyone has problems and challenges in their lives. How they face them determines whether they just crawl under a rock and give up, or persevere and overcome.

In the past I've often given up after a failure, thinking that it was too hard and why bother continuing to try? I don't take failure very well and have often taken it personally. Instead I should view failure as a chance to grow, a chance to try again and a chance to do even better this time. I'm getting better with age.

It does hurt to fail, but it shouldn't be an excuse to quit. Instead we need to reassure ourselve that we're still good people, still valuable and worthy of love and respect. Then when we're ready, we should try again.

Life's challenges, problems and failures don't have to reduce us to feeling like a victim who is convinced the world is out to get them. Instead, we should view each obstacle as a chance to grow stronger, braver and more creative.

As the motto of the Royal Air Force states, "Per ardua ad astra" (Through adversity to the stars)

I see those stars up there sparkling and twinkling just out of my grasp. I'm going to push forward through the adversity to reach those stars today. Who wants to join me?

Comments

  1. They do make you grow eventually but they sure are disheartening in the present. All well and good for the future. A person just can't dwell on it. You have to keep plugging forward and onward.

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    1. I agree, Kathy. It's no fun to go through adversity and hard times.Yes, we must persevere and keep looking for the good stuff, despite the obstacles and setbacks.

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  2. Great words of wisdom there and I love that picture...i think you're a great photographer then :)

    Yes, adversity is often killing but it takes perseverance to overcome the hard times. That's how we learn our strengths, sometimes :)

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    1. Thanks, Kajal. I agree that perseverance is the key. Giving up never solves anything.

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  3. I was the kind of a person who took failures personally too. Then came a time when I realised that I had to learn from the mistakes rather than dwelling on it an coming out with possible scenarios in my mind on how to handle it well.

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    1. Sounds like you came up with a good strategy for failure, Pratibha. Good for you!

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  4. I loved the quote - had not heard it before. There are also many quotes about failure but they are pretty much all say the same -- as you said -- if you fail, try again. Persevere and push forward. Never give up. Thank you for the reminder

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    1. Thanks, Carol. Let's keep going and not give up.

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  5. That is a beautiful photograph!! And your words are really comforting - though our initial response is bound to be that of a victim, with time and patience, we can train our mind to use it as a learning opportunity.

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    1. So true, beingFab. I have often seen myself as a victim which is so defeating. Time to change that perspective.

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  6. I would never have guessed it was a photograph! That's beautiful! And, to share your sentiment, I agree that failure is a stepping stone to success, if we choose to see it that way. Good for you, Cat!

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    1. Thanks, Shailaja! Good way to look at failure as a stepping stone to success. I would often use it as an excuse to give up but I can see that persevering is the key.

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  7. The difficult times are our greatest teachers. Great quote by Mary Ann Radmacher. Good on ya Cat - keep moving onwards and upwards.

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    1. Thanks, Suzy. So true that difficult times often teach us more than the good times.

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  8. Beautiful photograph and beautiful thoughts here. I think that while it is often hard at the time when we are in the middle of some big crisis, but after a while we can objectively see that the difficulty was indeed an opportunity for us to grow in some manner we become more accepting and more receptive to the future challenges that must inevitably come in this journey called life. Thanks for this thoughtful post!

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    1. Thanks, Beloo. Good way to look at it to accept that difficulties will always come instead of expecting things to always be good. Acceptance is hard to do but often necessary.

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  9. That's a lovely photo Cathy! What gets me through the toughest times is to remember that things could always be worse "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is my credo. Failure is never pleasant, but, there's always something to learn from it. I gave up writing in my 20s, because the constant rejection finally got to me and it's one of my biggest regrets. Yup; let's keep pushing! ☺

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    1. Thanks, Debbie. I had fun taking photos at sunset. Such a magical light there by the St. Lawrence. So glad you decided to write again. We are all lucky you decided to try again. I agree. Let's keep pushing!

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