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The Benefits of Hardship

     Hardship, something everyone goes through from time to time, a situation which can cause the person involved anxiety, stress, depression, etc.  These situations can be damaging to some and life-destroying to others, or so you think.  Hardship is difficult, yes, and it can be damaging, but sometimes this damage is needed.  There are occurrences where damage ensues and the person heals, strengthens, and moves forward.

     Hardship can be tougher than it has to be because we expect so much and can receive so little of what we hoped.  Nothing is absolute, and life can change almost immediately.  This should not demotivate us nor should it make us wary of the future.  We cannot base the future on our past, else we dwell and hinder our progress.  We plan in a world of unpredictability, and when tragedy strikes, we feel lost.  Our expectations, when unmet, enhance whatever negative feelings we may harbor towards reality, but as previously stated, the world is unpredictable.  Unpredictability works both ways, not only through the opportunity of positive outcomes but through the idea that our expectations are about what we want, not what we need.  What we need can be vastly different than what we want or expect; we want to make more money and have nice things, but we need people who love us and whom we love to enjoy it, or we want to be in a relationship with someone, anyone, to feel complete when we need to be searching for someone who is compatible, treats us right, and loves us unconditionally.

     Our expectations are a stepping stone to what we need, expanding our knowledge regarding ourselves and life experience.  When our expectations are unmet, it does not mean we failed, did something wrong, or are ignorant for believing what we wanted to happen, it means we were not meant to walk that path.  Failure and hardship open a new route, the one we were meant to walk.  The journey can be rocky, long, and painful, especially the beginning, but progression forms callus.  We later realize the benefits of what we believed was negative, and we become stronger, smarter, and more aware of our preferences, ideas, and strategies.

     Life was never meant to provide, it is meant to teach; survival, strength discipline, emotion.  Our experiences are lessons pertaining to these aspects and more.  With each success, each failure, our knowledge grows.  We understand more about what we want and need, and when we do push forward, the intertwining of both is simpler. As such, we will find happiness when we least expect, likely somewhere we would never have thought.  Looking back, the past will seem bleak compared to the present, as it should be.

     There's always something to be thankful for, and there's always something better over the horizon.

Let me know how you feel in the comments!

Song of the Blog
Today's Song of the Blog is "Get Along," by Kenny Chesney!

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