We all go through life in very different ways. For every person, the circumstances are quite different. It all depends on where you live, the kind of friends you have, the family you’re born into, and many other things.
Its no doubt that life is easier for some and difficult for others. Just take a look at the people in the middle east or in parts of Africa where even the basic needs are not being fulfilled. Couple that with a lack of sense of security, and we get but a hint of what life must be like for them.
In other parts of the world, while there is relatively more security, it is hard to get by as earning money has progressively got more difficult while the costs just keep on increasing.
And money (or lack of it) is not the only hardship that presents itself in life. There are problems related to relationships, problems with health and a slew of others. I guess you can say that suffering, is part of the human condition.
1. Hardships Makes You Stronger
You must have heard the saying, “What doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.” This applies somewhat here. The more hardships we go through in life, the stronger we get.
We can get mentally, emotionally and even physically stronger depending on the kind of hardships we go through. That’s why the training in army is so hard. It makes you stronger.
This has a lot of advantages. A strong mindset can lead to better handling of situations and stuff that scared you before or made you nervous, won’t have any effect in the future.
This makes for a better person who is well equipped to handle anything life throws at them.
2. Hardships Make You Smarter
We humans learn everything from experience. It’s all hit and trial with us since the very beginning from the time we learn to speak and walk till the time we die.
The more experiences we have, the smarter and wiser we get. That is why elderly people are very wise as they have seen and experienced a lot of things in their lives.
While strength gives you the courage to handle tough situations, smarts will give you a sense of the path to take to tackle such situations.
Therefore, a person who has faced a lot of hardships in life, is often smarter and can come up with creative solutions for problems at hand, like how to save money better, or other important things.
- Hardships Make You More Empathetic
Being empathetic is a very important human quality. I think it’s safe to say that it is part of the definition of being a human, to be able to understand other people’s feelings.
I am not saying that people who face less hardships in life are any less empathetic, but people who do, have a real understanding, a first hand information, if you will, as to what the other person must be going through.
They have more compassion towards other people and they have the ability to put themselves in other people’s shoes. Usually this leads to less conflict too as they probably understand the reason behind other people’s actions.
Also, such people are great at guiding people through their problems. Their support and wisdom can be really useful to people going through tough times.
4. Hardship Makes You Value Things In Life
It was proven in a study involving 15,000 people that people who have pulled through hard times are happier in the long run and that they appreciate the little things more.
This is quite true. Lets say a person is finally able to buy a car after having worked so hard for years. In my personal opinion, he will value it more than a rich guy who could just buy a car whenever he likes.
There is an important lesson there, that the harder you fight for things in life, the more value you will attach to them and the more you will appreciate them.
And it’s not only about materialistic things, people who have had quite a bit of tough times in their lives appreciate the other smaller things that life has to offer, like a beautiful sunset, or lush green grass in a field or the laughter of a child.