Did you know that behind each accomplishment there is another challenge waiting for you? After you have finally successfully completed one thing, it will just be a matter of time before another challenge arises or there is something new you want to accomplish. There will always be something awaiting your attention.
And, that is a great thing! Actually, that is an exceptional thing.
However, many people may look at this fact as something that is anything but good. Their goal is to have a life free of challenges. They don’t mind working hard and doing what they are supposed to, but if everything always went smoothly and came to them very easily, they believe that would be ideal.
However, you actually don’t want things to go too smoothly. As crazy as it may sound, you should want some challenges to come your way from time to time and you don’t want things just handed to you. You want to have to work for what you really want.
The possibility of Today:
Having challenges and working for what we want are both actually good things. You need challenges in your life and things to work through. The object of the game is not to have a life that is just smooth sailing.
Why?
Because if we really want to learn and grow we need things we can learn from. We need things we can transcend. We need to learn how to take on challenges and overcome them and know the formula for accomplishing goals. We need to learn all the lessons that stem from the challenges and obstacles that arise in our life. You may think it would be ideal to not have any issues, sit on a beach, drink fruity drinks, and that your only dilemma is figuring out what time you should schedule your daily spa appointment. Even though that may be an ideal vacation, it is not an ideal way to live everyday of your life if you are interested in really living and learning.
You need to learn how to maintain your great peace of mind despite the fact things aren’t going as you planned. You need to know how to always persevere, have amazing confidence and realize all of your potential. And, in order for all of this to happen you need experiences to work through so you can develop and strengthen the necessary traits and skills. You have to do some running on the treadmill in order to be prepared to win the marathon.
So, if some challenges or issues come up today as you move through your day today, know they are part of your life lesson plan. You don’t have to pretend to be ecstatic that issues or challenges arise, but you should recognize they are a part of your life experience and are meant to be worked through and overcome. When you have this outlook, it will be much easier to maintain the right mindset whenever you have to work hard to accomplish something or manage your way through an issue.
How to use this possibility Today:
1. Challenge = Opportunity. Always keep this equation top of mind and reflect on it when an issue arises. If your boss treats you unfairly, your husband forgets to take out the trash or you feel that you have way too much to do … don’t get frustrated. Realize you are being given an opportunity to strengthen your life skills.
2. Stop expecting smooth sailing. While you don’t want to be one of those negative people that always thinks things are going to go wrong, you also don’t want to have the false expectation that you shouldn’t have any challenges or things to work through. Always hope and expect that things will go the way you want. Don’t put the wrong type of energy out there. However, if a challenge arises or things don’t go as planned, know that in one way or another, everything is happening for your highest good.
3. Don’t miss out on any lessons. If you don’t learn the lesson the first time around, it will be back again. Make sure you are always looking and learning the lessons that come your way.
Live Today Better than Yesterday.
I definitely agree with this mindset. Challenges are the best opportunities for you to grow and learn more about yourself. Life would be rather boring if you could just coast thru life. I actually think most ppl need some sort of struggle in life to be interested.
Hi Sibyl,
I believe that every challenge we face in life is to prepare us to handle greater challenges. It is the same reason why we have to go through our education in stages. If we do not have a solid foundation, we will not be able to handle more advanced stuff.
Whether we are aware of it or not, the world can be a harsh place. We need only look at the war in Libya and the disasters in Japan to realize that it could happen to anyone of us. Life does not wait for us to be ready before it hurls challenges, problems and lessons at us. But how we use the time till we face the next big thing is entirely up to us.
As you rightly point out, a challenge is an opportunity for learning and growth. Unless we learn the lessons the first time round and quickly, it will keep on repeating itself in different forms until we do. The drawback is that with each successive lesson, the price we pay gets heavier and heavier until we learn.
Thank you for sharing this alternaview on learning each life lesson well!
Irving the Vizier
Hey Irving: Thanks so much for the comment and for stopping by. I really appreciated what you said about having a solid foundation from all of our learning. That really is what it is about. If we can always make certain we are paying attention and learning from the lessons that come our way, we set ourselves up for the future. Thanks again for the comment. Much appreciated.
Hi Sibyl,
Excellent post – as usual!
So true. We cannot expect life to easy. We will always encounter problems and challenges, but I totally agree with you about it – we should realize that after we’ve gone through all of it we will have learned so much that it will have been worth all we went through.
Thanks so much for sharing this wisdom with us!
Angela
Hey Angela: Thanks for the comment and for stopping by. Thank you also for the kind words about the post. I am glad that you enjoyed it. As you mentioned, I think when we realize that what we have gone though is only making us stronger and teaching us lessons we need to know for the future, we are in such a better position to respond and to learn from whatever comes our way.
Hi Sibyl,
Very nice post! We always should learn from our challenges Sibyl. Each situation and event offers lessons that we should ponder and examine. Instead of view obstacles, challenges, and mistakes as something negative, we should start viewing them as a positive thing that will help us grow as human beings. As always very nice job Sibyl and thanks for sharing
Dia: Thanks for the comment and stopping by. I do think you are so right that we need to have the right perspective on challenges and when we do, we can learn so much from them. When we look at things from the right perspective, we really can avoid getting overwhelmed by the issue and instead learn from the experience. Thank you so much again for the comment and for stopping by.
I am one of the crazy people who actually looks for challenges because I know they give me a great opportunity for growth. I wanted to get better at giving presentations now I am over our team meetings every week. Am I good at it? No, but I am learning.
By actively going out and looking for issues and confronting them before I am thrown a curve ball has taught me to accept the lessons that life throws at me, whenever they come.
I think the hardest lesson for me to learn is how to recognize what I am suppose to learn from challenges. This was a great post. Very insightful. Our obstacles give us a chance to learn, adapt and grow.
Thanks for sharing.
Frank: I really love that approach of going out and looking for challenges that you are aware to overcome. I think that is great to take things heads on and not just wait for issues to come your way. I am sure you are great at leading those team meetings:) I agree that the hardest lesson is sometimes seeing exactly what we are supposed to takeaway from situations. I think though that the understanding comes in times and in pieces just as it is supposed to. Thanks so much for the comment and for stopping by.
Indeed. I’m am searching in earnest for the life lessons I’m facing in my family now! Here are a few I’ve already figured out. I can’t control the choices my children make. The cosmos has little respect for plans. I can choose to see what’s happening as full of promise and joy. Yet I still think I’m missing THE lesson. Hmmm.
Galen: Sounds like you have the makings of a great book filled with the lessons from your family
I think those are some really good ones you are coming across. Thank you so much for the comment and stopping by. Much appreciated.
You got me at the start Sibyl. I once heard a spiritual speaker say that life is merely moving from one problem to another or one victory to another – you choose. What would we learn of ourselves if the road was always straight and the seas calm? Life means living our best and like a champion mountain climber to show that we need many mountains to climb. Enjoy the rests when you can but be ready for ‘peak’ performance when it’s called for. The challenge is to accept the challenges!
John: It really is so true and I love how you said it. You should by all means enjoy the rests and the times when things couldn’t go smoother, but you should also be ready and welcome the challenges because that really is when you grow the most. Thank you so much for the comment and stopping by. Much appreciated.
This is a great post Sibyl!
“Because if we really want to learn and grow we need things we can learn from. We need things we can transcend. We need to learn how to take on challenges and overcome them and know the formula for accomplishing goals.”
Yes, the sailing passage that I have mentioned before here and there fits nicely with this topic.
From Australia to New Caledonia two rememberances of the 19 day passage primarily stand out:
* One unbelievable spiritual night of the star lit heavens melting with the phosphorescent plankton sea, and with shots of dolphin tracing off the bow.
*Six life threatning nights and days of two fearsome storms.
“You may think it would be ideal to not have any issues, sit on a beach, drink fruity drinks, and that your only dilemma is figuring out what time you should schedule your daily spa appointment”
After limping into Noumea (towed the last 5 miles after sailing 1500) I was wanting to be back out at sea come 10 days later. The boat was too beat-up, so we spent the next month having french pastries and coffee at the local market each morning…repairing boat…hanging out at the beach…snorkling…and a rum” fruity drink” with dinner each evening dinner.
We would of much rather been back out to sea with the “challenge” of adventure, and the next ‘awesome’ spectical before us.
Yes, this is how an attitude should be regards what comes our way…
Rand: I think you said it all
It really is about learning things along the way of our journey.