OddballGreg - The Challenges That Define Us

Nothing more challenging than climbing up a 90 degree wall right? Well, except for getting out of bed early.

Life is difficult. Few can say that they have never had a moment of hardship, suffering or strife in their lifetime. So it's fair to say that most people's lives are defined by these challenges that they have to face. What's interesting, however, is that it is often the people with the most challenging lives that turn out well.

You've probably seen them everywhere, especially Facebook. (You, that place where people share everything, bowel movements included. *facedesk*) "The happiest people have had the saddest lives, the strongest people have had the hardest lives" etc, etc. The list goes on. The point that they all seem to be trying to make is that, strangely, the most virtuous people are often the ones who have struggled most in life.

Image from abegailrosales.wordpress.com I've seen this on Facebook more times that. Also, congrats for continuing the stereotype that grandma's  in woolen coats are poor.

So why is that? Why is it that people who struggle turn out to be the most likable people? Well, like always, I look to two things for all my seeming wisdom, (apart from my own head, since I can't really look at that.), YouTube and Movies. Namely, in the YouTube video Why Do We Feel Nostalgia by Vsauce's Michael Stevens, and the movie Little Miss Sunshine from 2006.

In Michael's video, apart from multiple other subjects as he typically does in his video's, he explains that people are, essentially, a series of linear experiences, even when the individual atoms they started out with are long gone from their bodies. (Sound crazy? Watch the video. Michael is brilliant with his explanations.) So what does that mean? Effectively, it means that we, as people, are the cumulative sum of our past experiences which have taught us to be who we are.

In the movie Little Miss Sunshine, the teenage son of the dysfunctional family flies into a rage after realizing that cannot pursue his dream due to colour blindness, and eventually find himself speaking to his uncle who had attempted suicide prior to the movie's plot. In their conversation, his uncle mentions a French writer, (who's name escapes me.), who, in his old age, having lived a difficult life with no money or success to speak of, decided that "All these years he suffered were the best years of his life. The years where he was happy were wasted and useless to him, since he'd learnt nothing from them."

So how does this answer the question? Quite simply, as people, we grow and are formed by the challenges we face in our lives. Those of us who suffer know what it is to suffer, and would not wish it upon others. The hungry waste not, the thirsty savor each drop, and the poor treasure all they are given. Essentially, they appreciate the things they did not always have, and what it took to get them. (The value of Hard Work is a good one to learn.)

The challenge of survival is one that changes a person definitely. Coddled children and fortunate son's, while perhaps good people despite it, often lack lessons in life that turn them into respectable adults. It's like asking an athlete and a bookworm to run a marathon. The bookworm will obviously be unprepared to meet the challenge. In the same way, those lucky enough to grow up with all that they could want suffer in their own ways as they never develop the ability to deal with their own challenges.

A rather apt joke that I've known for years more or less depicts the issue. As the story goes, a man notices how well his boss is running the company and decides to ask him how he manages to do so. The exchange goes as follows:
Man: "Sir, how is it that you manage to run such a successful business?"
Boss: "Good Decisions."
Man: "And how is it that you make such good decisions?"
Boss: "Experience."
Man: "And how does one obtain said experience?"
Boss: "Bad Decisions."

Even the joke details the necessity of strife in our lives, albeit in a more lighthearted manner. It is a fact of life that the mistakes we make define our future decisions. Our failures make us work harder in the future and our clumsiness makes us more careful. Part of being human is the necessity to learn from ones own actions and act upon the lessons you have learnt to ensure a better future for yourself. 

Consider for a moment, Italy, who for thirty years under the Borgias experienced some of the worst brutality that the world had to offer, and yet produced historical greats such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and was even the origin of the Renaissance. Why is that? Because suffering brings out the best in humanity, as sad as it sounds. Humanities greatest moments are found where people have struggled the most in their lives. 

King Louis XVI of France was an aristocrat born into the lap of luxury, and was promptly deposed and beheaded for his somewhat lax leadership skills. Martin Luther King was born into a time of intense racial discrimination and yet through his hardships in growing up, (having even attempted suicide), he became the historically heroic figure that many in the world know him for as a paragon of civil rights and equality.

So the next time you're feeling down and wondering why you bother, just think about the fact that these challenging times of suffering, more than anything else, are what define you and mold you to be a better person in the world. If you have any stories of personal challenges or any suggestion in general that you would like to share with us here at TCSA then be sure to let us know in the comments section below or via Facebook or Twitter as some like to do. Also, if you have friends who are going through a hard time in their life right now, perhaps consider sharing this post with them to help them through a rough patch. I'm sure they'll appreciate it. And of course if you would like to read more interesting articles like this one, do be sure to like TCSA's official Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter so that you can get the latest posts, as they go up. Regardless of what you do, I thank you for having taken the time to read this post; hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day, and I will speak again soon.

Stay strong my friends.