As my clients illuminate the obstacles on their journey to wholeness, health and peace of mind, they all come to a moment when they meet their enemy. While no one is greatly excited to know who their enemy is, it is liberating to address the enemy head-on.
Challenges play an important role in the formation of character. Character is not created by facing challenges, however, rather it is revealed by them. You may be unaware of your own character until you are met with seemingly daunting obstacles. It is the manner in which you deal with challenges that reveals your true inner self. Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly said, “Women are like teabags. We don’t know our true strength until we are in hot water.”
Are you one of the many people, who hate skinny women, the muscle guys, the ‘pretty people’ or the ‘filthy rich’? You see them shopping, golfing, playing tennis and in restaurants. They seem to have the perfect life wearing designer clothes and a spring in their step. You manage to calm your anger by assuming they are egotistical jerks, and slow-witted beneath their superficial superior façade.
Your loathing compels you to avoid the gym, because, you cannot bear to be compared to their sleek figure or physique.
Whatever your challenges are right now, they develop in you a capacity for resolving them, albeit they may seem difficult. Avoid the tendency to fight against or avoid them. Simply realize that life has challenges and that each challenge offers you the opportunity to stretch and grow.