Why challenges are the best things that happen to you.

Socrates was called “an immoral corrupter of youth.” Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer. Charles Darwin wrote in his biography “I was considered below the standard level by my family.” Walt Disney went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years old and did not read until he was seven. Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was too stupid to learn anything.

And yet.

The world knows these names. They have faced challenges and reached far beyond their imaginations.

Socrates’s philosophy is still quoted by our generation. Beethoven is one of the greatest composers of all time. He gave us symphony, concerto, opera, and piano sonata masterpieces. Charles Darwin has laid the foundation for evolutionary studies. Walt Disney has co-founded Walt Disney production. Einstein’s theory of relativity is widely regarded as one of the most remarkable scientific contribution of the 20th century. Thomas Edison created the light bulb.

Not only are challenges something you cannot avoid. But they are things that make you stronger and more successful.

If only you don’t stop progressing when they are blocking your way.

What do you do when you don’t get the job you have applied for? What do you do when the interviewer tells you, you do not have enough experience? What do you do when you are passed for a promotion?

What do you do when challenges are blocking your way — from achieving your dreams?

Do you give up or do you face and tackle them?

Sir Edmund Hillary — who is the first person to climb Mount Everest — said to the mountain,

“You, I will come back, you will never grow. But I will grow.”

He said this at a dinner party prepared to honor him and his friends who died climbing the 8,848 meters long mountain above sea level.

While going from point A to point B, challenges are going to block your way. They could be as giant as the highest mountain in the world Sir Edmund faced. Or, they could be as small as facing your boss when he tells you a simple mistake you have made while presenting your slide.

Life is full of challenges. If you look at them from the perspective of fear, you’ll be tying your hands. Unable to do anything about them.

If you look at them from the perspective of change, you’ll be able to do something about them.

You can either be like Sir Edmund who said to the giant mountain (the challenge), I will face you and keep on facing you until I reach the top.

Or, you can halt your progress — turning your back to the challenges facing you.

Challenges are beautiful. That is why we have light, TV, airplanes and computers.

Has there not been the need to light darkness, Thomas Edison would not have fought to create the light bulb. Without the problem, there is no need to look for solutions.

The Wright brothers created this thing that can take you to the opposite side of the ocean within hours. The brothers wanted to solve the problem of reaching someone you love in a short time.

We admire computers now because over 30 years ago, you have to wait 2–3 months until the love letter you wrote can reach your fiancé who lives on the other side of the world.

Challenges are good for you.

In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius wrote,

“Our actions may be impeded … but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting.”

He goes on to say,

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

Rejections made me a better writer. The first time I published an article, I fumbled and goofed and there it was. Article #1.

I thought everybody would like my article. But no. Reality crumbles you. In getting rejections, I learned to improve my writing. I learned how to connect with readers. I learned from the rejections so I could make the next articles better.

Had I not faced the challenges that were facing me, you would not be reading this article.

This is how challenges let us grow.

If your colleagues are smarter than you, you can read more and keep up with your co-workers. That way, you transform lack into an asset.

If you don’t have any satisfaction in your job, maybe your mood is telling you to get the hell out. And find something you love. The challenge is directing you to change course. For your own good.

If lack of finance is preventing you from starting your own business, take this challenge the same way Sir Edmund saw his mountain.

“I am bigger than you, mountain.”

Say, “I am bigger than the challenge I am facing.”

Sir Edmund was talking metaphorically. Because he was talking about the highest mountain in the world. But he is telling us he will practice again and again and again until he climbs and reaches the top of his mountain.

You can decide right now to change the perspective on the challenge you are facing.

See it as something bigger than you.

Or,

See yourself bigger than any challenge you are facing.

When you choose the second option, the challenge becomes the reason you stretch yourself. It becomes the catalyst you reach far beyond your imaginations.

Or, as Marcus Aurelius said 2000 years ago,

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

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To your inspirations,

Banchi