Life always finds ways to hand us challenges.
Sometimes the challenges are self inflicted because of poor choices that we have made.
Other times they are inflicted on us because of poor choices that other people have made.
Many times challenges are just part of life.
No matter the cause of the challenge we can choose to face the challenges in one of two ways.
We can choose to take the challenge head on and make the most of them, seeing them as opportunities to grow as a person. OR we can moan and complain about how unfair the world is and continue finding the same challenges until we choose to take life’s lessons and use them to grow.
That is why we can find at least ten reasons to appreciate difficulties that life throws our way!
10 Reasons to Appreciate Difficulties
1. If life was easy all of the time we would grow lazy and rarely be motivated to change and grow. How motivated were to change the last time that you were laying on a beach under the sun and beautiful blue sky?
2. Difficulties often force us to change in ways that we never would otherwise. When we are put in situations that make us uncomfortable we see the need for a change in our own actions, attitudes and thinking. (If we are looking to grow, otherwise all we see is how other people need to change to make us comfortable!)
3. You can inspire and encourage others towards personal growth and development! Others can be inspired by you in many ways, whether they are watching you from the sidelines or whether you share with them how you overcame a difficulty when they are going through a similar trial.
4. After you have come out of the difficulty and look back at how you grew and overcame challenges you will feel great about yourself!
5. Each difficulty presents a learning opportunity, otherwise it wouldn’t be difficult. Look for the lesson to be learned, look as hard as you need to because once you find that lesson it is something that you will be able to carry with you for your whole life!
6. Look at someone who hates challenges, look at how miserable they are and how miserable they make people around them. Know that you won’t be like them, being controlled by circumstances rather than being in control over themselves. If that isn’t motivation, I don’t know what is!
7. Challenges initiate creativity. It is said that difficulty is the mother of all inventions, when people are in situations that they don’t like the successful people will use their creativity to find ways to deal with the difficulties. Many inventions were created this way and also many great works of art were created in times of the artist’s stress.
8. New relationships can be made through challenges. You could meet people who have gone through the same challenges as you and develop very strong bonds that will last years. Some challenges bring about instant bonds. For instance, I’m a cancer survivor and there is an instant connection when I meet someone else who is one as well. There are plenty of other types of challenges which bring bonding between people such as the loss of a loved one or surviving a tragedy.
9. If you are a spiritual person your challenges present a unique opportunity to reach out to your creator and also by finding other ways to grow spiritually.
10. Each time that you successfully overcome a difficulty you will have more confidence to successfully overcome the next challenge that life throws your way. You will become stronger each time and each event of personal growth through these challenges will build on each other to make you stronger and stronger, more and more confident!
Which one resonates with you the most? Please share other reasons that you know of that we can appreciate difficulties!
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What a great list!! If we didn’t have challenges in life how would we even know that we had great things in our lives?? We need to appreciate the good and the bad. One of my favorite quotes is “The only way out is through” by Fritz Perls. Great list!!
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Stacy Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
That is a great quote, Miranda! Thank you for sharing it! You’re right that the challenges really bring out the good things in our lives all that much more!
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Great post. Another reason to appreciate difficulty is that it expands your ability to be compassionate towards others. Your difficulties are no different from the difficulties faced by others. Everyone because a part of your world.
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Stacy Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Cindy, what a great point! Overcoming our difficulties really does help us to grow in our compassion for others, the more that we have been through the more understanding we will have of others!
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Excellent post. So thought provoking and insightful! I especially like #7 about causing creativity!
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Stacy Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Thank you for stopping by, Crayon Wrangler! We often don’t think about it but obstacles can bring about our highest levels of creativity!
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I believe that you only find happiness on the other side of one’s failures. You only meet failures if you accepted the challenge. The people there never will do anything that is difficult, seems to disappear out of your life the longer you live after that you so eloquently describes Stacy.
Thanks for a good post.
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Stacy Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Thank you for that insight, Soren! You are exactly right about failures!
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This post was fantastic. Thank you so much for doing it. I loved it all. It is a great way to look at problems that come our way. There is a verse in Corinthians that says that you will be given things but God will provide a way for you to escape them. I know that He will always help you through the things that come your way. I have seen that in my life.
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Stacy Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Thank you for sharing, Karen! I love the quote in Corinthians that you are referring to!
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Difficulties are also designed to bring us closer to each other in times of support and solace. Powerful post!
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Stacy Reply:
July 20th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Yes, Jennifer you are right! Difficulties are made for our betterment – if we allow them to!
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Stacy, what an inspiring post.
I particularly like how challenges can initiate creativity.
I am at my most creative when faced with overwhelming challenges.
Thanks Stacy!
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You are so right Stacy! It’s amazing how much is gained from ‘difficulties’! I am grateful for mine!
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Stacy Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 10:21 am
Thank you for joining my blog, Linda! I look forward to visiting your blog!
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Thanks for visiting my blog, and for making this great post. It’s difficult to say which of these resonates the most with me, because they are so true and stand up so well on their own. Most recently, however, I have discovered (yet again) that life’s challenges bring out my creative side.
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Stacy Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 10:22 am
Rachel, it’s amazing how we can often discover the same life lessons over and over!
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What an encouraging post, Stacy – difficulties, I am ready for you!
I loved it when you said that problems encourage creativity – very important learning and growing step, especially for online marketers.
Best,
Ana Hoffman
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Stacy Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 10:23 am
Thank you for visiting, Ana! I really appreciated reading your blog yesterday, I will definitely be making regular stops!
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I think the part that struck me most about this list was the use of such a great photo to match the list – it really made it for me. very striking. you don’t have an image credit – where is it from?
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Hey Stacy,
Thanks for the inspiration. I really enjoyed reading this post. There’s always a positive perspective to every situation that we find ourselves in. We can use our minds to find a solution, or we can let it just complain and remain hopeless.
Like you said, if life wasn’t challenging, then it wouldn’t be any fun – it would be boring.
Have a great day,
Wayne
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Stacy Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 10:25 am
Hi Wayne, great to see you again! I always appreciate your insights!
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I really like this post because it made me think. I too believe that sometimes when you overcome challenges you become stronger, smarter and more aware. I also believe that the difficulties we experience provide the contrast we need in order to really appreciate and enjoy the gifts we experience.
Thanks for this very thoughtful list post!
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Stacy Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 10:26 am
Kelsiesma I like the point that you make about difficulties providing the contrast that we need in life!
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Love this! Thanks so much for sharing these! I think #10 resonates with me the most. =)
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Stacy Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 10:27 am
Megan thank you for stopping by!
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Hello from Lady Bloggers! Love your blog and have signed up for future postings… adversity is a wonderful thing, after the fact… love challenges and finding solutions, so my retirement has to be, once again, postponed while working out this newer challenge… come visit when you get a chance and check out my first vlog…
Twitter: SolarChief
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Stacy Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 10:29 am
Hi Sharelene, Thanks for stopping by! You’re right that the greatness of adversity is always appreciated after the fact. It’s never enjoyable to go through difficult circumstances! I look forward to visiting your blog!
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Stacy, awesome list. Difficulties are what mold us and make us who we are. All of that “stuff” just makes us tougher and makes it easier to get back up when we fall down.
Great post and thanks so much for sharing.
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Stacy Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Thank you for your comment, Brian! I love the point that you make about difficulties molding us into who we are, it’s so true. We can either become stronger if we allow it to.
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Your blog theme looks cool. What template did you use ?
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I love this post…especially what you wrote in #10. It’s so true that challenges build you up…make you stronger. I know that the challenges I’ve experienced have made my knowledge and experience multiply imensely. Thanks for sharing!
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Stacy Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Thank you for your comment, Misti! Challenges are a great time of growth, even though they are painful at the time.
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Difficulties often times make us better people. #10 is a great point.
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Hi Stacy
It’s a nice read that leaves me thinking
“I’m positive she’s positive ”
Great attitude, like it & nice to read your faves on SU – I’ve added a couple as ones to definitely keep an eye on.
Best wishes from Hamburg
Will
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There is a reason why I call my troubles treasures…
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Very good post!
Everything in our life is where we focus on, what’s the meaning of it and what are we going to do about it!
Thanks for the inspiration Stacy!
John Mak
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Stacy Reply:
November 9th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
Hi John,
Thank you for your comment! You’re right about the importance of our focus. It makes all the difference!
Stacy
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Nice share. I think your blog should come up much higher in the search results than where it is showing up right now….
Stacy, this is an awesome post. I’m relatively new to blogging (blog years must be like dog years), and in addition to the technical skills there are social and emotional skills too. Writing about difficulties can be difficult because you don’t want to be a downer. But identifying a common experience eliminates stigma, and as you said, could possibly create lifelong bonds. Susan
Susan Maricle invites you to read… The Ford Housewives- the First Frugalistas
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Stacy Reply:
March 28th, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Thank you, Susan. I find that writing about difficulties helps me to find the positive in them because, as you said, I don’t want to be a downer about them!
Take care,
Stacy
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[...] 10 Reasons to Appreciate Difficulties [...]
Hey Stacy,
You did a nice job with this post by really helping us look at how our difficulties can really shape us.
Look at all the people on the web with thriving businesses that have endured tremendous difficulties in getting there. Their difficulties have inspired us, even motivated us. They turned their lemons into lemonade, so to speak
We’re all a product of our life experiences, and we should use those experiences, good or bad, to help us grow.
I personally like and resonate with #9.
Thanks for the great insight.
Liz
Liz invites you to read… Can You Really Make Money Online?
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Stacy Reply:
March 20th, 2012 at 4:49 pm
Hi Liz,
It’s great to see you again! You’re right when we see what others have been through it’s often very inspiring to us. Hopefully we can help inspire others through our own difficulties!
Stacy
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Hi Stacy. Great posts. Definitely something I’ve come to learn myself and how important it is to come out of our difficulties! I absollutely love numbers 2 and 3. Definitely a matter of growth and perseverance. Thanks for sharing these important tips.
Take care,
Barbara
Barbara Charles invites you to read… What I’ve Learned From My Parrot About Business and Perseverance
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