Life's Greatest Lessons Are Disguised in Our Most Trying Times, But You Must Keep Perspective How we react during these times will determine if we miss the next opportunity -- or come back swinging with a vengeance.
By Matt Mayberry Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
As life and business problems begin to expand and tough times continually knock us down, it's absolutely imperative that we pause and remind ourselves what all of this is about. It's extremely easy to get caught up in all of the curve balls life throws our way -- but we must choose not to. A major component of success, happiness, growth and a joyous life is perspective.
Related: 5 Easy Ways to Gain Perspective
Each and every one of us has our own unique perspective on life, but our perspective on failure and adversity greatly determines our success or lack of it. Our happiness, and whether or not we grow as human beings, all begins with our perspective.
The pain. The suffering. The agony. The heartbreak. It's all there to serve you and to help mold you into the person that you need to become. There is nothing easy about it, but if we can work to push ourselves to change our perspective of what failure and the tough times of life are present for, our lives take on new meaning. A big part of making this happen is learning to love the journey that we are on, and whether we are where we currently want to be or not.
As we go through life, we tend to set our eyes on the destination and where we eventually want to end up while forgetting the incredible importance of the journey that we are on. I am not telling you to avoid looking forward and creating massive and great visions for your life, but I am encouraging you to remember the importance of the journey that you are on at this moment.
Not only will you capture sincere, loving and fond memories along the journey, if you make it a point to live in the moment, but if you know its purpose, if you're willing to learn from each and every experience, it will make you drastically better in the long run.
Related: To See Solutions, Look at Problems From Everyone's Perspective
If we never fail, we don't know the value of succeeding. If we never experience heartbreak, we don't know the value of true love. If we never lose a loved one, we don't know the value of relationships. In the middle of all of the chaos and turmoil, the last thing on our minds is remembering to value the journey that we are on.
I encourage you, no matter where you are now, in failure or success, adversity or glory, to embrace the lessons, and value having the opportunity to grow.
When I truly learned to value the journey and not just the destination, I noticed something special change in my life. I truly began to value the hardships in my life as growing opportunities to become better the next time around. Instead of beating myself up over something that went wrong, I dusted myself off and prepped myself for another round. I began to value each new and old relationship that I ever had with anyone, as I knew that every person that comes into our lives is there for a purpose.
Life's greatest lessons are disguised in our most trying times. How we react during these times will determine if we miss the next opportunity or come back swinging with a vengeance.
Related: 5 Ways Entrepreneurs See Life Differently
Next time you experience a loss, failure, heartbreak or a setback, remember that it's all part of the journey to help you grow, and if you embrace it as such, you will possess a perspective that is primed for success.
