We are not what happened to us or our decisions. They are things happened to us or are things we did. They are not who we are. Yet the struggles we face sometimes grip us to the point where we become our struggle.
When we go through hardships and traumas, it is appropriate take the time you need, whatever that is or whatever it looks like, to deal with it. That is an important part of the process. Where things get tricky is when we become consumed by it.
For me, sometimes I do get trapped in a place where I become consumed by it. But then I check myself and think about Jocko Willink’s motivation video, “Good.” If I can look at my struggles and say “good”, it means I’m still breathing and I’m still alive. I still have some fight left, so I can get up, dust off and reload, recalibrate and re-engage. Now I can go back into the attack and overcome my struggle. Here’s his short motivational video:
You see, we can take our struggles and let them fuel us, rather than define us. It is what we do with the hand that we are dealt that matters.
No matter what your struggle is, remember that we were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed or unworthy. We were created to be victorious.
