Life comes at us quick, it comes at us hard, it comes at us with difficulty after difficulty. Sometimes it comes with injustices and pains that can instill brokenness and hatred. We can fold, we can cope, or we can get back up each time it tries to knock us down. That is remarkable thing about the human spirit, its ability to fight back and overcome all odds sometimes even death.
All the thoughts of winning the lottery or meeting someone rich, becoming famous through the latest social media viral trend won't stop life. Having all the money in the world doesn't protect us from tragedy and pain. Problems don't go away when "all our problems are solved". Money can buy a measure of happiness for the moment for sure. Money can make life easier, that is for sure as well. But is the answer to life to be easy? To be one long vacation? Or is it to show us what we are truly made of? To show us what we can truly accomplish ourselves and together?
None of us are inspired by someone being soft or having it easy in their life. The great stories are seeing people overcoming unimaginable pain, tragedy, adversity. Those are the stories that reach right down to our core and speak to us. Make us want to stand up and fight. Life's difficulties can actually be a gift. The many years it takes to work at a job to get excellent at it. The decades it takes to earn, save and become disciplined with money to the point you have enough that you can tell the boss - "no thank you". Earning your stripes is a great feeling and no one can take that away from you. With nothing to overcome how great is life really?
So what's the winning secret to a successful life? Embrace the suck. Whatever we are facing is not going to go away on its own, the calvary isn't on its way. So what can I do to improve my situation? Find that out and fight back. Fight for yourself, fight for those who depend on you, fight to make a story others can be inspired by. Don't try to flee the difficult situation, don't try to hide from it, embrace it, accept it. It's here and it's not going anywhere so how can I beat it. If it doesn't look beatable how can I live with it and work through it? That's what we have to find out for ourselves. Not giving up is how we beat the life being hard and the work that sucks.
Hang in there and fight back and win!