Speaking at a recent event at the Roxy in Acton Ontario, I reminisced about a time as a young boy, when watching the pain and struggle of life for my parents, trying to survive another day overwhelmed me. I remember making a conscious decision, a commitment to myself, a covenant of sorts that when I got control of my life, when I became older, I would remove all chaos (struggle) and create a world around me of happiness. Subconsciously this covenant guided my life in so many ways, I wanted to eliminate struggle or the pain of it. In my naivety I believed that I could control “things/events” in order that I would achieve my goal.
The irony of it all is that today I find myself as the Executive Director of a Micro-Finance charity in a third world country where chaos is the norm.
What I have come to understand, and am learning to embrace, is that there is great value in struggling. There is much to learn and to grow from in struggling; Here is one thought, “You can be absolutely certain that the struggles you are facing today are preparing you for future achievement.”
The question is how to we learn to embrace struggle? I will be sharing more on this topic and my journey as we prepare to cycle across Nicaragua.