Single Blog

  One of the greatest concepts I have ever learned is that my problems are meant to help me; not to hurt me. My own unique set of challenges and problems, are just that…mine. And, yours belong to you. If it were possible for me to take all of my challenges and problems, put them in a basket and trade with you, we would still have two baskets full of challenges and problems. I prefer to have my own, and I am sure that you feel the same way as well. After all, we are familiar with our own and can work with them in a knowledgeable manner.

Let’s face it – no one goes through life without having some challenges. If you are living and breathing, then there are challenges that you have just gotten over, are in the middle of right now, or have a new one coming your way. That is just the nature of life!

I believe every problem can teach you something if you will simply accept it. The key to everything is acceptance. When you recognize that the challenge you are now facing has come into your life to transform you, you will have a different attitude towards it. If you refuse to accept the problem, then you will definitely run into a roadblock. Then you will be stuck and unable to go any further. Each of us has a choice to accept our challenges and problems and learn to deal with them, or not.

I have also learned that being thankful for the problems and challenges that come in life will actually take you to a whole new level. The simple act of being thankful opens your mind to all of the possibilities and benefits that will come from the difficulties that you now face.

Sometimes it helps me to draw a circle around my problems in order to quantify them better. Many times I get a sheet of paper and draw five or six circles to identify each one of the challenges I am facing. After all, dealing with termites in the house does not carry the same weight as dealing with a family member’s health crisis. By drawing a circle around each problem and quantifying them, I can better identify them and know how to approach each one with wisdom rather than with dread.

If you will accept your challenges, and learn to be thankful for them, you will often find that they actually introduce you to the next level in life that you are trying to achieve. Simply wishing your problems would go away is a very immature way of dealing with them. If you do not learn what the lesson is trying to teach you, it will persist until you finally do learn it. Gaining wisdom does not happen in a vacuum. It must be done by recognizing what the situation is, learning to accept it, being thankful for it, and allowing it to teach you the lesson that it wants you to have. That is the way you learn and grow. It is also the way you become the person you were meant to be.

While I don’t want to ever be sadistic and pretend that I am happy because I am facing a difficult challenge, I do want to make peace with my challenges so that I can work together with them and grow through the process. The more I do that, the better off I am and the easier the challenge becomes to take me to the next level in life.

As I said earlier, this is one of the most difficult things I have ever learned, but I have been practicing it for years and have found that it brings great peace, joy, contentment, and personal growth to my life. It will for yours as well!

Keith Young