Life’s Challenges

We have all had them—those times when we think we can’t cope, can’t see a way out of where we’re at in the moment. We can feel frustrated or stuck. Sometimes when things happen that cause us to feel this way, we say we have “challenges.”

There’s another way to look at challenges. I confess that in the middle of something that drains me, that challenges me, this is often not my first choice. It’s easier to feel something isn’t “fair” or perhaps have the familiar lament, “why me?”

Have you ever gone to that place?

There’s nothing wrong with feeling this, yet it’s best if we feel it for just a bit, then see where we want to go from there. After all, staying in that energy doesn’t serve us. Certainly that feeling can’t move us forward into obtaining something more desirable. You’ve likely seen people who go around believing life has handed them a raw deal. And maybe they do have it tough. But that’s where the opportunity lies as well.

The word challenge has many definitions. Among them “to demand as due or deserved; to order to halt and prove identity; to dispute, especially as being unjust, invalid, or outmoded;” and “to invite into competition.”

If we look at each of those definitions, can we use them to spur us onward? Take the first definition: to demand as due or deserved. If we demand better, if we know we deserve better, we can use this as a call to action to determine what steps we need to take to make our circumstances better or choose to feel differently about our circumstances. I like to think of the second definition of “challenge”, “to halt and prove identity” as one where I have to stop and identify where my thinking comes from.

Am I buying into other people’s messages? Do I have old messages in my head that don’t have any basis in my current reality? If so, I know those messages aren’t helping me be all I’m supposed to be. They certainly aren’t helping me address my challenges from a point of strength. When I challenge the identity of those messages that takes me into that next definition of the word: “to dispute, especially as being unjust, invalid, or outmoded.” That gives me the opportunity to see whether or not I’m treating myself kindly and determining which strengths I have that will take me into a better place. If I’ve taken on incorrect messages, I can see them through this examination. If the messages are old enough to be antiques, it’s time for me to push the refresh button.

Perhaps the greatest definition of challenge is “to invite into competition.” This can be the impetus to use one of our greatest resources: creativity. There are always ways to change circumstances we don’t like, no matter what they may be. Even our darkest moments may be there so we can experience them, lift ourselves out of them, and then be a blessing to others.

Challenges? Maybe they’re blessings after all.