Growing Through Difficulty

When things get tough, the smart ones learn and grow!

When individuals, couples and/or families face a crisis change is just around the corner. The question becomes, "How will you change?"

Three benefits of having a growth oriented attitude are:

1.      Less stress and worry

2.      Becoming better prepared for the future

3.      Others think of you as flexible and easier to relate to

There are two options when dealing with difficulty: 1) take the negative situation to reinforce an earlier belief or judgment and use it to prove your point and stop the potential of personal growth, or 2) use the crisis to start asking questions that will guide you to growth: What was missing? What could have been better? What was being overlooked? What used to work that doesn't work now? What are some other perspectives or viewpoints of this problem? What needs to change to create hope in the future?

Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, ³ for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.                                                               James 5:2-4

There are two things you can do with the past: apply forgiveness and learn from failures. Well, maybe there is a third way to look at the past.

Mark Spitz, the Olympic swimmer who won seven gold metals in 1972, took studying the past to a whole new level. In an interview he said, "Everybody analyzes what they did wrong when they lose a race. I have learned to analyze what I did right. I want to reinforce the positive behavior, not my failures."