Oh, the struggles of life… I’m sure you’ve heard this saying before - what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Today I want to elaborate on this more through some examples I’ve experienced in my own life to help you look up, stay focused, and continue to move forward.
What does this saying mean? What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger simply means you are someone of resilience.
Resilience means - the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.
How important is it to be resilient? Extremely.
Who could benefit from being resilient? Everyone, especially YOU!
I’m sure you’ve seen countless movies which show the fall and rise of the main character. One that comes to mind immediately is Rocky. A poor uneducated man goes from nothing to a boxing world champion and superstar.
He displays resilience in countless ways during his boxing career.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger is an important quote to remember and remind yourself of from time to time.
Life is going to through you many challenges. I’ve been laid off, fired, broke, and unhealthy. I’ve taken risks, some paid off, and some didn’t.
But, the most important thing I learned throughout all of these struggles, challenges, and new opportunities, is that you MUST get up as fast as possible after being knocked down.
While I don’t mean physically being knocked down, but rather metaphorically. When life knocks you down so to speak.
The reason why getting up as fast as possible is critical is because of this ONE thing - momentum.
Momentum is a glorious thing when it’s on your side, but if it’s not on your side you better get up and change what you’re doing asap.
So what does momentum mean?
Momentum keeps developing more quickly and becomes less likely to stop.
As you can see from this definition it’s something you most definitely want to help you go further rather than holding you down.
For example, let’s say you get laid off from your job. Times are tough and your company is going through many layoffs.
This event could likely get you off track and knock you down. From here your routine of going to work every day slides, and you feel worse each day, so you eat unhealthy foods and stop exercising.
Down further and further you go in a downward spiral of not working, not feeling good, and gaining a whole lot of momentum to hold you DOWN.
Now, if you stay down and fail to get up immediately - such as getting a new job and staying in your routine, it will be more and more difficult to get back on track.
What about the other side of this scenario?
You’re doing fantastic at your job. You’ve recently been promoted to a high level - especially considering your young age. You are pulling in great money each month and have built a strong foundation in your life in regard to your health, money, and relationships.
You stick to what’s working and are consistently sticking to your daily habits - even when you don’t want to. Things are looking up and you’re only gaining more traction each day to keep improving and growing.
Guess what happens in this situation?
You keep moving up higher and higher, the momentum you’ve built allows you to scale faster and faster in your career and life!
Once you get going, it’s hard to stop you and your momentum.
I’ve come to a point in my life where I’m truly grateful for all of the struggles that have happened in my life. The things that didn’t happen to me but the things that happened FOR ME.
These challenges have shaped me and what I represent every day.
I believe deep down that you need to go through tough times in order to really experience all of the great things in life.
The highs are not high without the lows. Plus, it makes for a good story amongst friends and colleagues right…
If you can accept the challenges that happened for you in your life you will be much more likely to not only LEARN from these challenges but be thankful for them too.
Surrounding yourself with the right people will help you get through tough times when you aren’t feeling or performing at your best.
Your environment is critical to your success.
If you hang out with others who are broke and jobless, guess what you’re on your way to being. Broke and jobless.
This environment is important to how fast you get up when you fail, and what you do moving forward.
Notice how in the previous sentence I said when you fail - not if.
Every successful person has failed many many times. And the only way to reach your wants, goals, and dreams, you’re going to need to fail until you get it right.
Rather than see failure as a roadblock and obstacle, see it as getting one step closer to your ultimate goals and desires.
When you fail, be thankful, learn from the experience, get up, and get moving.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. The difficult times will come to pass - they always do. Now, my or your, or someone else's path is different. And what’s difficult for me may be entirely different from whats difficult for you.
Focus on yourself, and don’t let others' trajectories and success blind you from your own.
When you get knocked down, try not to hesitate and feel sorry for yourself. (Don’t act the part of the victim). Instead, get up and get back on track as fast as possible. This will ensure you keep your momentum going forward, rather than backward.
The next time you have a challenge you’re facing, be grateful. This challenge is a learning experience that helps you to get to where you want to be and helps shape who you are.
Chris M Wilson
Chris M Wilson is a career coach, entrepreneur, blogger, author, creator, and doer. He is passionate about helping people leave the job they hate and jump into their dream careers!
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