Struggle is the Catalyst to Success
How Hyper Growth is Born of Adversity
Are you going through a hard time right now? Do you wish you could push a button and have your current dilemmas disappear? Does it feel like you’ve been stuck for a little longer than you bargained you would be? Do things seem really unfair and you’d like to tell everyone all about it? Are you sure that if you just landed that dream job or dream creative pursuit (the record deal or the big client) that everything would be better? Then read on, this is for you.
We often read books or blogs about success or leveling up to look for that magic bullet to get us where we want to be. We focus on the title, the salary, closing the big deal or landing that dream job. It’s easy to go deep on topics like the Law of Attraction or life hacks to create rapid growth… it’s not so easy to deal with pain, adversity or having to admit that nothing is working. The struggle is not a sexy subject. And yet we all know… the struggle is real.
Feeling like your opportunities are a barren wilderness is not fun. So, what do we do? Well, we tend to focus all of our efforts on how to get out of the wilderness as soon as possible… often not realizing that the key to success is going through the wilderness and not around it.
Why is that?
Well, because the struggle is where you grow.
Overnight success stories are borne from years of hustle. Tragedies that seem unfair often lead to character development that drives superhuman success. Heart break leads to lessons learned and better choices. I would go so far as to say, the struggle is a necessary component to success.
Leadership, respect and success are earned values and not simply titles given. They are earned through surviving the trenches of the struggle. The grind of long hours, being passed over for promotions (or record deals), accepting too low a salary or advance and realizing later that you should have countered, having to grin and bear it through numerous trials, going through months with no bites on that resume or that demo or that headshot, being promised one thing yet given another, going on tours to play crap venues or acting in local theatre to no audience and not landing a single big gig… that’s the struggle.
It is not fun.
However, it is the catalyst to progress. It’s actually something a boss told me when I was 22. I was working one of many barista jobs that I had in my twenties and was complaining to him about my music career (or lack thereof). He looked at me and plainly quipped, “Tatiana, frustration is the catalyst to progress.” He was right.
You may not always like your circumstances, but you can always learn from them. Your struggle transforms once you realize that is not a nuisance in the way of your impending success. Rather, it is the graduate school required for in order for you to achieve your dreams. It’s the real school of hard knocks. So, get over your self pity and start learning.
I’ll end with this.
One of the most moving life lessons I have ever learned came from a group of monks in Santa Barbara, California. These Benedictine monks were residents of a gorgeous hilltop monastery and Anglican retreat house that overlooked the ocean called Mount Calvary. It was one of my favorite places to go for silence retreats. In the fall of 2008, a group of college students started a bonfire not far from this monastery. Their bonfire became a wild fire, later dubbed The Tea Fire, and it destroyed 210 homes as well as the monks of Mount Calvary’s monastery. All of the monks’ belongings, as well as millions of dollars worth of historical artifacts, were destroyed. The cost to rebuild would have been over ten million dollars. The monks could not afford to rebuild. Even now, just writing about it brings tears to my eyes because these good men certainly did not deserve this struggle.
Here’s the kicker, friends. When I went on the Mount Calvary website, to see what official communication they were putting out. I expected to see a call for donations or something. Instead, the following verse was prominently displayed above news of the fire:
“My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.” — James 1:2–4
Sit with that. Their entire spiritual place of worship, their home as well as their livelihood running a retreat house was destroyed. Instead of lamenting the struggle, they leaned into the wilderness and sought its lessons. That is heavy.
I am happy to say that since that time, a miracle occurred and a nearby convent donated their retreat house to the monks. The monks of Mount Calvary have a home once again. It is not as fancy and it does not overlook the ocean, but it is filled with love and welcomes guests weekly. (You should visit them and please send my love to Brother Will.)
Whatever your struggle, lean into its lessons. I know it’s not easy, I know you want it to end and I know it seems like it never will. However, there is one constant in life and it is change. You will graduate from this season so learn all of its lessons that you can. Look at where you need to change not-so-great behavior so that it doesn’t graduate with you to your next level, develop a deeper sense of humility and patience, clarify what it is you really want and work hard at it. You will be better for it and you’ll be thankful.
You got this.
Interested in knowing more?
There are books devoted to this topic as well. Here are some I’ve read that I endorse: The Obstacle is the Way and Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday and The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni (great for hiring managers). If you’re Christian or open to spiritual books, check out God, Where Are You by John Bevere or How To Lead When You’re Not In Charge by Clay Scroggins.
