Is Struggle Necessary?

People tell us struggling builds character. People tell us struggle makes us better leaders, better people. They tell us struggling is good for us.

People tell us struggling has lessons for us, lessons we cannot learn any other way. They say struggle reveals valuable truths about perseverance and how much we value what we value. People tell us struggling helps us become stronger.

Could we become stronger without struggling? Could we become leaders without learning to struggle? What would a leader be like who never struggled?

If struggling helps us become stronger, does the lack of struggling make us weaker?

Most of us do not see a potential struggle as a positive opportunity. We may say we appreciate a good competition, but what we really enjoy is winning. For most of us, a “good” struggle is one from which we emerge victorious. We look forward, not to our next struggle, but to times we can put struggling behind us.

The leaders who inspire me appreciate the gifts of struggling. They work hard to be their best, and even harder to learn the lessons struggling has for them. They see a “good” struggle as the next one, when we can put what we have learned to work.

The leaders who inspire us have shown us how struggles shape us. They help us face struggles that may seem insurmountable. They help us find the strength our struggles have built into us. They show us why and how we can embrace our struggles.

Without struggles, we would not be the leaders we are today. Even if struggle may not be necessary, it may be helpful.

What are you struggling with today which will help you become stronger tomorrow?

Are you facing a struggle in the future you are eager to begin?

[Image by istolethetv]