When you think of struggling, what goes through your mind? I can imagine that it is more negative than it is positive. Usually struggling comes with stress, disappointment, and anxiety. Seldom does it come with honor, positivity, and grace.
However, it’s when we take a step back and reflect on the struggle that the growth occurs. Honoring the struggle takes practice. It takes a genuine and conscious effort but when worked on, it becomes a lasting and positive habit that brings growth.
Because of my experience and knowledge with High Performance coaching and mentoring, it comes naturally to remind myself to honor the hard times that come. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy. It still takes work and generating a positive mindset, even when that is hard. And that work takes time and dedication.
In my most recent podcast episode on Change by Choice, I talk about the process of honoring the struggle and that the tough times are necessary for us to find the joy after the struggle.
Relationships, work and careers, even the holidays, may cause stress or doubt in our minds which may lead us to defensively push back. It’s in these moments that we need to recognize what our body and mind are trying to do in a protective mode. When we do realize these things, we learn how we can honor that struggle and those defense mechanisms so that we can learn and truly grow from them.
Do you know what your defense mechanisms are? We all have different ones that our subconscious turns to in times of struggle. But the thing about defense mechanisms is that they can only work positively for us if we honor them and not let them overwhelm or hinder our relationships with others and ourselves.
One of the most important aspects of learning to honor the struggle is understanding that the struggles we face are exactly that, learning processes. We will struggle, it is a fact. The only way we can avoid struggling is by not working or living up to our potential. So WHEN we struggle, how are we going to learn from it and honor it?
For starters, it’s important for us to recognize what it is we’re struggling with. Is it learning a new skill? A serious conversation that needs to be had? Understanding that we are not being genuine or honest with ourselves? When we are able to recognize the exact thing we are struggling with, we are able to pinpoint what needs to be done in order to grow through the struggle.
Each struggle we run into is actually an opportunity for us to grow and improve our skill set. It’s within these struggles and the process of honoring them that we are able to become more positive, more apt, and more conscientious of working with others and even with understanding their own struggles.
So what learning lessons have you gotten about business or life that have lead you to experiential growth?
You can find the podcast episode here, I hope you enjoy it!
