The question was "How did you overcome the hardest times of your life?"
My answer is as follows:
By Reflecting on how I could use it to my advantage.
Nobody enjoys going through struggle, but it it an intrinsic and inescapable part of life.
And thats a good thing. Here’s why:
If everything was always good from the moment you were born, you’d never have any concept of good to begin with. You wouldn’t know you were standing on the peaks of mountains if there were no valleys to contrast them.
In addition to this, the pain and hardship that struggle provide are some of the best inter-personal teachers that we have.
The negativity and discomfort of these emotions force us to face an ultimatum: Find a way to overcome them, becoming a better version of yourself in the process, or be swallowed whole by them.
So when it comes to hardship, whatever it may be, approach it with the awareness that you can learn from it and it can make you a better, stronger, and more capable individual.
Also, make sure you allow yourself the freedom to feel, and heal, through your pain.
Some hardships are simply harder than others, and some can completely and utterly shatter our hearts without warning. It’s important we acknowledge the pain that arises from this and embrace it whole heartedly. Cry if you need to cry, be broken if thats how the pain makes you feel, but always remember that there will come a time where you need to pick yourself up, so that you might learn from and move past that pain.
I hope this helps you next time you find yourself faced with hardship.
I originally answered this question on Quora. You can find me here.