Tag: Challenges

Life is not designed to make things easy for us but to present us with challenges that help us grow. And we should embrace these challenges. Terry Laughlin

It’ssa me, Mario

I watch my kid play Mario, and poor Mario runs into endless challenges. That’s what the game is. He has to overcome his current challenges in order to advance to the next level. And what is on the next level? More challenges, harder challenges.

Life is like a video game. There is no end to our challenges. But does Mario ever look depressed about his challenges, does he move through the game with a grimace on his face? No, he’s smiling, he’s having fun. He agile. He’s bobbing and weaving. Just like us strong people.

Would we ask life to be any other way, for Mario, or for ourselves? What kind of game would it be if Mario didn’t face any challenges? What kind of life would it be if we didn’t have any challenges? Boring.

If life wasn’t hard, would we work as hard as we do to accomplish greatness? Pain changes us into what we are to become, and choosing to live a comfortable rather than a challenging life brings its own challenges.

The more challenges we face head-on, the stronger we get. Which enables us to take on bigger challenges, and the scary bits of life that used to make us run for the covers will trouble us no more. I’d rather have a few battle scars from the challenges I face then be soft and squishy from trying to stay comfortable.

So go forth, face that big, hairy, audacious challenge. You got this.

More thoughts you might enjoy:

Strength only comes from the struggle. Ashley Wagner

It’s through my hardest challenges that I’ve learned my greatest lessons. Sherry Soelberg

Life is a series of problems, if you are to be happy at all, you must be happy, period. Not happy because of. Maxwell maltz, Psycho-cybernetics

Wherever did we get the idea that secure and pleasant living, the absence of difficulty, and the comfort ease of, ever of themselves make people either good or happy? Dale Carnegie

Great faith is the product of great fights. Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests. Great Triumph can only come out of great trials. Smith Wigglesworth

Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something. Wesley, The Princess Bride

Oh how I wish this weren’t true, but I’m pretty sure it is.

This quote by Ryan Holiday has been going through my mind a lot lately.

We recently lost a $100,000 customer, which is a tenth of our business. This is oh, so painful. But I sat down and wrote a list of the hard things I’ve been through. They include:

Moving high schools my sophomore year. From here, that doesn’t look like something “hard,” but at the time, I was self-conscious and felt conspicuous, eating lunch alone, and really didn’t make any friends until the end of that year.

Multiple miscarriages.

My husband lost his job when I was a stay at home mom of 10 years.

Our production manager who had worked at the shop for 25 years gave his notice.

Of course there are other hard things, broken bones, broken hearts, temporary health and financial setbacks, but these are some of the bigger ones I can think of.

I wrote this list to remind me that hard times don’t last forever, and that we get through them, and usually come out the other side stronger, and having learned invaluable lessons. Hard hurts so good.

I can look back and follow this “hard things” list up with the blessings that followed.

Moved high schools sophomore year – Made the best friends I ever could have dreamed of.

Frequent miscarriages – We got to adopt our amazing girl.

Husband loses his job – We become business owners, and I learn so much and get to work with really great people.

We lose our shop manager – We step up and run the shop our way and learn how to delegate and put systems in place, and build a great business.

We lose one of our largest customers – I don’t know, but I trust that something good is coming.