I am grateful for all that I have experienced and that I have left behind. Every obstacle knocked down and every intersection crossed defined who I am now. A person who looks to the future wiser and with better psychological resources.
Written and verified by the psychologist GetPersonalGrowth.
Last update: 15 November 2021
All of us should be grateful for the difficulties we have overcome. Because from every abyss in which we have sunk, we have been able to build bridges towards growth and experiences rich in value.
Now let's breathe deeply and look to the future without fear, because we leave behind us chapters already written, pages turned to write better stories, stories of which to be protagonists.
Some more some less has left behind various experiences, some positive and others less so. A Chinese proverb says that before being a dragon one must suffer like an ant. The truth is that contrary to what we think it is not mandatory to suffer to be happy or to understand what life is like. But we cannot deny it: there are sufferings that leave us valid teachings.
Personal growth is one of the best known areas of psychology, on which the humanistic school has focused in particular. Part of this current is existentialism which maintains that people are dynamic, changeable and that in every change there is an aspect to which we must always be accountable: consistency towards oneself.
So, in the event that fate has an unexpected twist for us and we are forced to face a difficulty, it is our responsibility to react by learning to decide, reflecting on what touches us and shaking our potential. In this inevitable crisis, we must never put aside our values.
I am grateful for all that I have overcome because it is thanks to this that I have become who I am today
Rollo May, one of the greatest representatives of existentialist psychology of the twentieth century, he said that the more we feel lost, the faster we run. Sometimes, in fact, phenomena or circumstances occur that take us by surprise.
Sometimes the unexpected comes with its stormy clouds and an earthquake under our feet. In those moments we remain prisoners of fear and act with more uncertainty, instinctively, driven by panic and haste, in a way that is anything but balanced.
Dealing with these vital Gordian knots is difficult if our mind is not clear; if it is dominated by chaos like what surrounds us. We make better decisions when we train in a calm, thoughtful approach and are in harmony with our principles, values ​​and needs. Thus, we should absolutely clarify the concept of personal growth.
This dimension does not refer only to the approach to the obstacle. It is not just a matter of solving a difficulty or getting out of the worst problem unscathed, it is much more. Personal growth is, for example, learning. It means knowing how to use personal resources in complicated moments, knowing how to make the most of what represents us.
It means being open, receptive and reacting to choose change over fear, progress in the face of stillness and stagnation. Being grateful for the difficulties overcome.
Our decisions have led us to where we are now
We should breathe deeply and be grateful for the difficulties we have overcome, because they have allowed us to get to where we are today. Our current version is due to them.
Yesterday it was certainly difficult and left several scars on us, but every growth requires a transformation, a psychological change, a tidal wave of emotions ...
Dr. Michael Unghar, a family psychotherapist and professor of sociology at the University of Dalhousie, Canada, is one of the leading experts in the field of resilience.
Come ci spiega nel suo libro Change Your World: The Science of Resilience and The True Path to Success, Sometimes something has to happen outside for that inner potential that is resilience to be activated.
According to this expert, all personal growth passes through the activation of this dimension. In order to do this, we should have in mind that such competence is like a dance. Something dynamic that also transforms us and what surrounds us. But what does this mean?
We are thankful for all that we have overcome because we had the courage to change something about the outside world that didn't make us happy (a partner, a stressful job, etc…).
And we have changed too. Today we are more assertive, we decide with greater determination, without fear and having clear in mind what we want in every moment.
People who are grateful for all that they have overcome and who look to tomorrow without fear
We look to tomorrow without fear. Not because we think that everything the future has in store for us is in color and smells of happiness. We wait for it without feeling distressed, because now we know we have more resources to face what will be, to face difficulties, to embrace luck.
We are grateful people for difficulties because it is thanks to them that today we smile at the world, we look at the horizon by setting ourselves new goals, new dreams every day.
Consequently, we have learned to better manage everything that comes to us. Always with hope, with resilience and by activating those exceptional resources that we all have.
