We’ve all heard the cliches. We know we need to make lemonade when life hands us lemons. With enough pressure, we transform from lumps of coal into brilliant diamonds. Yeah. Those well-meaning, feel-good images are supposed to help change our perspective and encourage a calm, peaceful search for a silver lining. But sometimes they annoy me, and I  want to scream until my voice cracks, beat my fist on my desk, or hurl a brick against the wall. Often, THAT improves my outlook. Why should we pretend nothing is wrong when it clearly is? I say, throw a temper-tantrum, cry, howl, yell, and express your outrage. Experience your bubbling molten lava anger and then get busy.

Embrace the obstacle, face your issues, introduce yourself to your nemesis, and get to know them. What makes them tick, what rules run their world, and what puts them into opposition with you? I am not suggesting that you wallow in your suffering, push the blame onto others, or expect someone else to save the day. To triumph over a situation, you must accept it, understand how you got there and where to go next. How do you solve the problem? Once I’m annoyed, I must fix the issue and ensure I never travel that road again.

Powerful magic dwells there. We can endure great pain, beat horrendous obstacles, and live to tell the tale to the awe-struck masses. Google is full of miracle, one-off stories of survival, and yes, they are inspiring. But surviving the event is not the end of the story. For me, it is only the beginning. A much more fascinating adventure happens after you withstand the onslaught. Did you emerge changed? Transformed? Wiser? Kinder? Did your endurance test fill you with an essence so powerful, everyone you meet feels it?

What challenge has forever changed you?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer