Challenges are important for your personal growth and success. They make you stronger and more resilient. It’s important to know how to respond to challenges and avoid the ones that aren’t aligned with your goals and purpose. (Estimated reading time: 2-3 minutes)
“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt
My 12-year-old niece had reached an age where she’s starting to learn about the ways of the world. One afternoon, she sat me down to discuss her grievances about a new teacher.
“She’s just so mean to us Aunty Seline. I hate her class! Why do I have to deal with people like her?”
I smiled and replied, “Sorry about that sweetie. I know that it’s not easy to deal with a strict teacher but do you know how I see this situation? I see this as the perfect opportunity for you to learn how to get along with a difficult person!”
At first, my answer confused my niece. After a few seconds she nodded her head in acknowledgement and then said “How do I do that?”
“That is part of your learning experience, but here are a few tips to help you get started…” I said. We continued our heart-to-heart discussion for the rest of the afternoon.
If you read biographies of any great person in history, you’ll notice that their life was hardly ever smooth sailing. There were plenty of twists, turns and bumps on their path towards success. It’s only upon reaching the end of their story, do you get a birds-eye perspective to see how all those tough experiences shaped them for the each stage they went through.
Just like how a diamond needs to endure years of pressure to transform from an ordinary piece of coal into a sparkling diamond, challenges force us to grow our consciousness and become more evolved and enlightened.
However, most people mistakenly believe that their life should be happy and fun all the time. If faced with difficult situations, we panic and lose our balance.
What’s important to understand that all the pain that we experience from difficult situations are a direct result of our ability to process them in our internal world.
We have the power to manage our reactions by making decisions and choosing thoughts that steer us towards calmer waters just as how the captain of his ship steers the ship away from storms or choppy waters.
When an unexpected storm catches you by surprise, see it as a learning experience. The challenge has been placed in your life to help you grow and build your inner strength. I consider challenges to be the Universe’s “personal training for the soul”.
Clearly, challenges need to be accepted as a part of life and our growth process. Yet we still need to be discerning in terms of which challenges are worth going through. You can do this by listening to the inner wisdom.
The best way to figure out if taking up a challenge is worth your time is to evaluate whether it is costing you your integrity and if you are being true to yourself. Ask yourself if it is in alignment with your highest path and purpose.
Ultimately, you’ll see that the Universe is set up to facilitate the growth, evolution and expansion of the consciousness of all living beings, including your own.
All my best on your journey,
Seline
Question for you: Think about a major challenge you faced in your life. In what did you benefit from this experience ? Can you see why challenges are important when it comes to your personal growth?
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Challenges are very important for all of us and reading about the benefits will help us see the positive side of things