Existential Psychology

Rise Up And Meet The Challenge

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If you are facing difficult life circumstances, you can either focus on the unfairness of the situation, wondering why it had to happen to you, or you can treat these circumstances as an opportunity to rise up and meet the challenge, to discover the deep well of strength, tenacity, and skill that has been waiting to be called upon.

Remember that diamonds only form under pressure, and humans too sometimes only find out who they really are when the going gets tough. Many of us yearn for a carefree, easy, comfortable existence without any suffering or conflict, basically a Garden of Eden, but these life circumstances aren’t really desirable from a self-actualization point of view and are likely to hold you back from becoming all you are capable of being.

This idea isn’t just theoretical, you can see evidence of it in the form of rich kids all over the world who are given every material comfort yet end up doing absolutely nothing with their lives. We don’t feel compelled to activate unless we’re confronted with a situation that demands it, yet when this situation comes along many of us don’t see it as a chance to access the best of ourselves in order to grow and overcome, but rather as an unfair roadblock holding us back.

The challenges we face are usually not the ones we plan for or expect, but we always get to choose how we will respond to them, courageously moving forward or shrinking back. Don’t let the pressure crush you; use it to your advantage where you treat it as an opportunity to shine.

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