The Strength in Struggle
Comforts Make Weaklings!
Most people think of comforts as happiness and struggle as pain, but comforts produce more inner-external strength than struggle. Struggle makes a man combative, creative, adventurous, and hard-working. However, parents often try to give their children a smooth life, aspiring to make them mommy’s prince and daddy’s fairy.
It is okay not to have trouble eating, drinking, or dressing, but the child needs AC. He can’t go without it; he needs branded clothes. We don’t send him on public transport, and he can’t go to the washroom anywhere except at home. Such carelessness can make him lame.
All over the world, people who have moved forward have struggled and seen many ups and downs in life. Only those who have the strength to struggle can draw water from a stone. Struggle makes a child self-reliant and self-respecting. It prepares them to fight life’s problems at any age. If a child is to be equipped for the battle of life, friendship with struggle is essential. Having felt the pain of lack of comforts along with happiness, they do not escape from happiness and do not lose courage in suffering.
For a child to learn to struggle in life, consider these points:
Learn to say no: Instead of getting everything, say no to something so that the child understands the importance of it. For instance, don’t opt for vehicles if you want to go within walking distance. If you have four pairs of clothes, refuse the fifth. Fulfill the need but avoid fulfilling every desire.
Explain the reality: Do not hide problems from the child, thinking it will hurt him. If he is aware of the family’s financial condition and problems, he will become responsible and motivated to work hard.
Explain the importance of hard work: Inculcate in his mind from childhood that hard work is not a struggle but a ladder of experience, a weapon of learning, and a weapon of achievement.
Get into the habit of doing your work from childhood: When a child wants to eat, dress, or take care of his things, parents often do not allow him to work. As a result, children do not get used to doing their own work when they grow up. In some households, children learn to order servants from childhood. Encourage the child to eat by himself, lift his dish from the floor, and put it in the wash basin. Assign small household chores like filling a water bottle, straightening the sofa cover, and moving something from one place to another. If children do not learn to do their work while studying, they will become dependent.
Intelligence without responsibility is useless: Being intelligent and educated is of little value if you cannot use that intelligence responsibly. Being a good person is meaningless if you fail to fulfill the responsibility of meeting your children’s needs. Therefore, developing a sense of responsibility in children from childhood is crucial. A child growing up among servants will learn the importance of responsibility in helping his parents.
Teach children essential life skills such as going to college, visiting the bank, paying household bills, shopping for essentials, and helping in the kitchen if mom is sick. Instruct them on how to save money and keep notes for friends or others. Following through on promises and striving to keep them is part of building a responsible character.
Defeat and victory are two cycles of life: No situation in life is permanent. Involve the child in sports and extracurricular activities. Sometimes he will win, and sometimes he will lose. Teach him to enjoy victories and encourage small wins with gifts. Explain that losing, despite working hard, is part of life. In life, not working hard is worse than losing; losing teaches you to work harder and fight better. Teach him to enjoy both defeat and victory, and to be humble in victory and patient in defeat.
There are both good and bad people in the world: We often create a scenario for the child at home, telling stories of truth and morality. However, when he sees partiality in school or encounters dishonesty in the world, his trust can break. Teach him that not all people are good and not all are bad. There is a hero against villains, a dedicated leader against a corrupt politician, a friend against an enemy, and an honest person against a cheater. Teach him to trust that honesty and hard work will pay off. Sometimes, the wrong people may appear victorious, but that victory is not true. Encourage him to be gentle with kind people and assertive with harsh ones.
