Difficulty

Today happened to be "one of those days" at work that everyone has now and again. The wheels started to come off early and it seemed like one misfortune followed another. Extremely frustrated that things hadn't gone my way I stewed over the days events the entire commute home. When I sat down this evening to read I remembered a passage I had read a few days ago and decided to read it again.

"As we accept these responsibilities, we grow to accept a great truth: life is difficult. Once we fully accept difficulty as natural and normal, we cease to be offended or daunted when we encounter a struggle or a test. We can embrace these tests as opportunities. Difficult experiences are the way we learn, and they also are the way we can appreciate ease. We understand brightness by its contrast to dimness, happiness by its relationship to sadness. By embracing this duality of experiences, we allow ourselves to find peace within our difficulties rather than wasting our power on trying to escape them. We shift to a position of power by focusing on seeds of opportunity within difficulty and staying curious, by exploring reality instead of avoiding it."

From The Rock Warrior's Way by Arno Ilgner

This lesson applies not only to my professional experiences, but to my personal life and athletic endeavors as well. There is no growth within the realm of comfort. Great opportunity lies within the belly of the beast of great struggle.