Society has convinced you that moving on quickly from a struggle is a sign of resilience, but it's actually a sign of fear that will hold you back.

Why Struggle Is a Gift

I wish we learned from the good times, but we don't. Here's why the bad times bring such promise.

Struggle helps you understand your past.

Adversity enables you to peel back the layers of why you are who you are. It will conjure past memories that were formative to your current perspective and allow you to heal from what no longer serves you. Your past becomes the rosetta stone for your future.

But only if you let it.

Struggle expands your present.

When you avoid feeling pain, you will inevitably avoid feeling everything else too. But when you lean into the pain of an experience, you unlock full-spectrum living — the ability to feel the full scope of life, from good to bad. This shift creates an appreciation and gratitude for life as it is.

And this gratitude is mindfulness at its best.

Struggle unlocks your future.

Nothing makes you more powerfully motivated to live a good and meaningful life, than knowing what its lack feels like. Plus, by understanding your past and its impact on you, you can heal from it, removing its shackles from your life.

Embracing the gifts of adversity can be the force that propels you forward.