Hardships are inherent part of life. We all go through them at some point in life. But why do we have to experience them? What purpose do they serve? We have to realize that hardships makes as grow. They make us better than we were before. C. S. Lewis says, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”

Lester Gonzalez shares five reasons why going through hardships is important:

• Hardships reshape our goals and priorities. Going through hardships helps us know what matters and what doesn’t to us. We start to reevaluate our goals and priorities.
• Hardships makes us to be grateful. When we face challenges, we become aware of the things we often take for granted. It directs our focus on what is good in our lives, helping us appreciate the simple joys in our life. The beauty of hardship is that it allows us to see the bigger picture in life.
• Hardships make us more empathetic and compassionate. It allows us to relate to certain difficulties, allowing us to provide support and understanding to others. We then become better friend, mother, father, sister, etc. for others
• Hardships help us discover what we truly are. Because hardships push us out of our comfort zones, we are able to discover new strengths, talents, and coping mechanisms we didn’t know we had. We learn what we are truly capable of achieving.
• Hardships foster strength and resilience. Hardships help us become strong in our character and develop the fundamental mindset toward discipline and courage. We learn topush through when it gets hard.

Now, let us delve deeper as to how hardships is important in character development. Let it be said that we don’t grow in character during the good times. It is only through hard times that we build our character.

Meerabelle Day in Create a Great Life tells us to consider using these approaches whenever we are facing hardships in life. When we respond to life’s hardships in these ways, we would be able to develop our character.

• Choose to be helpful.Counterintuitive it may seem, when we are facing hardships is the very time that we should be helping others. We develop our courage by toughening up, rising to the occasion, and helping others in any way that we can. So instead of focusing on our problems, we should focus on how we can serve other people.
• Be kind. Realize that when facing hardships, our character is being tested. Do we lash out at others when we aren’t our best? Are we impatient and irritable and take our troubles out on other people? Or will we be patient and kind no matter how we are feeling? When we are being kind and considerate, treating others well, despite our hardships, we are building our character. We become someone of great character.
• Be responsible. Even when we are feeling overwhelmed by the hardships we encounter, we don’t let our responsibilities slide. We don’t miss work, let our house become a mess, or stop paying the bills. days of work.  Acting responsibly even when life is hard builds our character. We grow in maturity and self-discipline.
• Cultivate a positive and wholesome mindset. Building up our character entail filling ours brain with high-quality information. Avoid the negative, unwholesome nonsense in the Internet, on television, and in books and movies; and seek out only good, wholesome ideas. Be vigilant about what you read and listen to. It is important to fill our mind with only positive and uplifting thoughts when we facing hardships and maintain a positive, resilient attitude.

In navigating hardships, having resilience is critical. Resilience makes us survivors in the game of life. When hardship tests us, we need to dig in deep and find resilience within us or learn to have one.

Paul Meersman offers three key strategies that can help nurture and enhance our resilience:

• Control your focus. In navigating hardships, focusing on what you can change while accepting what you cannot is essential. Shifting your focus to the positive aspects and the lessons hardships offer make a significant difference to your emotional well-being.
• Accept reality. Recognize that hardships are a part of the human experience and accept it with an open heart. When you acknowledge the reality of your situation, you are more able move forward with a clear mind and a determined heart.
• Distinguish between helpful and harmful. Self-inquiry allows you to take control of your responses to difficult situations. With this practice, you are able to consciously choose your thoughts and actions, thus enhancing your ability to cope effectively and make constructive decisions.

There is obviously a direct correlation between character development and resilience and navigating hardships. In life, hardships are ubiquitous and expected. But we can navigate them with resilience and a character forged and developed by the very hardship that it tries to overcome.

Sources:

Dey, Meerabelle. “How to Build Character During Hard Times.” Last modified January 2, 2021. https://meerabelledey.com/how-to-build-character-during-hard-times/.

Gonzalez, Lester. “5 Reasons Why It’s Important to Go Through Hardships.” Last modified January , 2024. https://medium.com/@lester03g/5-reasons-why-its-important-to-go-through-hardship-2050a3db7098.

Meersman, Paul. “Building Resilience: Navigating Life’s Challenges with Strength and Grace.” Last modified July 7, 2024.  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/building-resilience-navigating-lifes-challenges-grace-paul-meersman-emgye.