Turn Struggles into Strength
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Life is guaranteed to knock you on your ass.
The Secondhand Inspiration Project begins with a motivational quote and ventures wherever the creative path meanders.
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger
You probably never had a random stranger scream in your face to help you recognize the truth, but I have no problem figuratively being that guy.
You are going to lose sometimes.
You can study all the self-help books, exude confidence, fake-it-until-you make-it-look-easy, and micromanage every variable. It doesn’t matter. At some point, you will eventually crash and burn in your career, school, sports, relationships, etc.
But it’s not all bad. Your success depends on those failures.
If you can consistently train yourself to bounce back from defeats, you will kick butt over the long haul. Remaining upbeat despite setbacks and siphoning knowledge from life’s trials will allow you to sidestep similar pitfalls in the future.
So how can you calibrate your mindset to accomplish this? It’s simple, though not necessarily easy.
It comes down to armoring your attitude to withstand the problems you face. You must prevent obstacles from knocking you down or hardships from derailing your focus. Don’t let trivial annoyances shift your attention from long-term goals.
If your spouse hangs up on you abruptly during a conversation, don’t allow that moment to taint the remainder of your day.
If a coffee shop clerk acts rudely, don’t drag that destructive cargo into your next interaction.
If you lose a bid because a competitor dropped their price, don’t get too downhearted. Recognize that your rival diminished their value while you maintained yours.
Absorb each loss, recognize them for what they are, and keep moving forward. Focus on the next fight.
