GOOD STRUGGLE
GOOD STRUGGLE
For many of us, when we first hear the title of today’s Thompson Truth, we might think Good Struggle that’s an oxymoronic concept.
It ain’t real. Struggle is DEFINETLY NOT GOOD! But, if you will allow me, I can show you the Good, even in your Struggles.
In life we all have struggles, right? Regardless of who we are, or where we are. Whether we are young or old, wealthy or barely getting by.
No matter if we are Male or Female, Black, White, Latino, Asian, of any socio-economic status, in this life we ALL have struggles.
In other words, we all have issues in our life, that we wrestle with each and every day. Some of us wrestled this morning just to get out of bed, or to stay in bed, or to go to work or school. Sometimes we struggle with what to wear, what to say or not to say, what to do. The struggle is real!
Suffice it to say, there are many types of struggles in life. Some serious, some not as serious. Some are arduous, and others easily resolved. Some involve failures and victories, some right or wrong, others life or death. But yes, there are also some Good Struggles in life too.
While Struggling may not feel good, it still works for our good.
Struggling is not pleasant, without question. But we know it is an inherent part of life. We had to overcome millions of things just to be born. As an egg in the human body, you were destined to die within minutes of release. Of the 300,000,000 human sperm released only 200 reach the site of fertilization. Clearly the odds were stacked against you ever being born. But you made it through that struggle and countless others since then. That makes you an OG as far as Overcomers go!
One thing I know about you without a doubt, is that you know how to survive and thrive in a struggle. I know this because you are HERE.
You and I are proof there is an Upside to the Struggle. Perseverance.
New Growth comes out of Struggle. Research shows that people who struggle with a problem on their own before receiving assistance performed better in a crisis than those who didn’t learn to struggle.
That’s the Key: Learning How to Struggle.
It’s been pre-determined that we’re all going to struggle, so then why not learn How to navigate in and through the Struggle.
Learning how to Struggle requires a paradigm shift. We’ve got to change our perspective on why struggle happens.
Struggles don’t come to take us out. That’s evident by the fact that we have already overcome so many of them already, and the list is still growing by the day. We have outlasted them all and will continue to.
Struggle is defined as an exercise of effort. An opportunity to learn how to overcome. It’s designed to bring about a greater resolve within us.
I WILL LIVE AND NOT DIE! NOT TODAY! NOT LIKE THIS!
Struggles come to Strengthen us in the areas where we are weak.
We can’t be short sighted and just say, I don’t like it. Instead, let’s look at what it can do for us. It’s okay to struggle if there is a benefit involved.
That’s what I call Good Struggle. Some call it Productive Failure. It’s learning to look for the good, even in the bad, or uncomfortable.
Facts: Struggle is better for us than Easy Peasy. We have learned more from our struggles than from our walk in the park experiences.
STRUGGLE is where we learn more about the 5 – S’s.
S #1 – STRENGTH. Struggle allows us to access how much Strength we have in certain areas and how much more we might need.
Each struggle brings with it different ways of testing one’s skillset, endurance and level of patience. All are major components in growth. It provides us a chance to get to know our own Strength. Many of us don’t know how strong we are. Struggle provides a gauge/metric for that.
S #2 – SELF. Struggle offers us an opportunity for Self-Reflection.
How you look at your struggles defines you as a person. Every person struggles in his or her own personal way. We get to evaluate our decision-making processes in this area. Struggles aren’t negative or positive, it’s an opportunity for us to see ourselves. It lets us note the Areas of Cies. Deficiencies and Proficiencies.
S #3 – SACRIFICE. Struggle makes us look at How much we are willing to Sacrifice? If we are willing to? And at what cost? How long?
What am I willing to do to get what I want? Is this worth My Sacrifice? Everything worth having requires some level of commitment. Struggle helps with the valuation of lessons learned, and benefits gained. Wisdom costs. Our level of Sacrifice predetermines our level of Success.
S #4 - SOURCE. How will I get through this? How will I make it?
Who or What am I really relying upon when the chips are down? Where is my foundation? We get to learn Who or What we really place our confidence in. Identify Who or What we’ve placed our trust and hopes in
S #5 – SOUL. What am I made of? Tests yield Results. How did I do?
Struggle allows us insight into our character. At our core, who are we? What are we made of? Through this Struggle we will get a deep, careful, analytical view of ourselves. Look and see any areas of Flexibility or Rigidity. How accountable am I willing to be to myself? To others?
Struggle is certainly a difficult teacher, but one of the better ones.
Easy can make you Soft, and Unprepared for the battles yet to be fought.
Make Today’s Struggles, your Tomorrows Testimonies.
This is a Thompson Truth
