The problems you face appear to be the most destructive forces in your life. They seem to hold you back from abundance, love, and your dreams. How could challenges be beneficial? Nonetheless, setbacks, mistakes, and other difficulties are the keys to growth and a better life.
Glendalyn Fodra, a physical therapist with 25 years of experience in various settings, has seen first hand the obstacles thrown in the path of her patients. However, Mrs. Fodra has also witnessed the dedication, commitment, and ultimately her patients’ victory over their setbacks.
Below, Glendalyn Fodra shows how challenges can be blessings in disguise if seen through an optimistic point of view.
How challenges urge you to grow
If you were never challenged, you would have no reason to grow. After all, why leave your comfort zone unless it looks like you can’t stay there anymore? Challenges push you in the direction you need to go. Often, you think you would rather stay where you are because, although difficult, your circumstances are familiar. You know how to bear them, even though you aren’t happy.
When you live with problems that stunt your growth, you stop believing you can change. You think you’re stuck. Life, however, has other ideas. If you’ve wished circumstances would alter, guess what? The change you want happens but in unexpected ways.
The biggest challenges in life often occur out of the blue, although, on the quiet, you’ve asked for them. You never want them to be difficult, yet, they are tantamount to the volcano Vesuvius erupting. One moment you cope badly but hang on in there, and the next you thrash about in hot lava.
When you are unhappy, your response can change your life for the better. Often, people don’t recognize they’ve set transformation in motion, which is why they are surprised when their lives are shaken. However, when you face challenges, you can be sure life’s asking you to grow. The gauntlet’s at your feet, and it’s up to you whether you accept the challenge or slink back to your comfort zone.
The magic of challenges
Your trials are steps on the personal growth ladder. If you’ve been unhappy for some time, and not moved forward, challenges will arise to give you a push. You might lose your job, a relationship, or meet financial problems. However, what came before your difficulties was also problematic. Your job or your relationship wasn’t right for you, or you needed to make more money way before the bailiffs came calling.
Recognize challenges are part of life’s magic, and you’ll greet them positively. Rather than be despondent, you’ll realize the urgency you feel to get out of hot lava is your cue to alter life. To move forward, look for solutions, which involves doing things differently, instead of carrying on the same way you’ve always done.
Are all challenges fun? No. Some hurt. However, they pluck you out of situations where you can’t thrive and force you to act in ways that improve circumstances. When massive trials come your way, take a deep breath, and face them head-on. See them as signs something’s got to give and alter your life for the better. Once you answer their call, challenges will disappear as they are no longer needed.
About Glendalyn Fodra:
Glendalyn Fodra is a seasoned professional in the field of physical therapy, and her success is based on strong family values, sound ethical principles, and a deep-seated sense of community, compassion, and understanding.
When she’s not working, Mrs. Fodra enjoys watching movies, hiking, going to vacations, shopping, planning events and potlucks with her husband and two sons within their tightly knit community of ten Filipino families.