How many of you reading this believe that experiencing struggles are a bad thing? I’m sure there are thousands that would agree with that statement. In fact, I used to be one of them. Society teaches us to push away the hard stuff. It leads us to believe that if we’re not always happy and living our days free from obstacles and hardships, then we’re not doing this whole life thing right. So, as a result, we resist when it comes to the hard stuff. However, rather then resisting, what if we starting embracing the struggles instead?
The Lessons in the Messes with Spinal Muscular Atrophy
I was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy at six months of age and given two years to live. To sum up the last 27 years of my life and quote every millennial out there, “the struggle is real.” From as early as I can recall, however, my parents taught me how to be strong and rise above any challenge life was going to throw my way. They taught me how to rewire my thoughts from resisting my struggles and, ultimately, allowing it to consume me to embracing my struggles and not giving it the upper hand. As a result, some of my greatest lessons have been learned through my toughest messes. And, by embracing the mess, there is one piece of advice that will always hold true for me and, hopefully, you as well: where you find your struggle, you will find your strength.
