If there’s one thing that unites us all, it’s that we all suffer. We all triumph. We face obstacles in our lives and encounter things that throw us off our course and challenge our inner strength. That’s life, with the lesson often seen in retrospect. Without the difficult times, there would be no great times. Everything would just seem flat and uneventful, plain and boring.
There would be no impactful change without struggle. The beauty of life is overcoming what we think we cannot. Our self-esteem grows and we find strength in ourselves that we never knew existed.
This very point had me thinking about various struggles that I’ve been through in my life. I remember focusing mostly on the negative aspects of the situation. How badly I felt, how crappy the situation was, and how much I didn’t think things would ever change. Blah, blah, blah. It’s a vicious cycle.
But what if we focus on how our struggles change us and our lives for the better?
Would it be possible to improve negative situations, if we thought about how we might benefit from them?
When I was unhappy with my research career, all I could think about was how much I screwed up my life. I went to university for 7 years training as a researcher only to discover that I basically loathed it. So many days I would curse myself for making such a huge mistake in my life and going down the wrong path.
My negative thoughts were so powerful, I almost convinced myself that it was better to just live the rest of my life unfulfilled than face the alternative (change). I told myself that I could do what I wanted when I retired. I was 25 years old at the time!
That’s when I realized that I could rot in my own negativity or I could see things in a different light. Instead of cursing myself and “mistakes” (I’d rather call them “learning experiences”), I searched for lessons and meaning.
What was my unhappiness trying to tell me?
How was this discomfort nudging me to make a change in my life?
Without taking the wrong career path, I wouldn’t have found the happiness I have with my career today. I started this blog as a hobby while I worked as a researcher. It was something I could work on during my own free time and it brought me so much happiness that I spent most of my free time working on it. What started as a distraction from my real life became the thing that gave me life.
Little did I know, this hobby would not only serve as the catalyst for eventually leaving my unfulfilling career and starting my own business, but it would also lead me to discover my real passions in life.
Most surprisingly of all, I now see struggles in a new light. Instead of cursing an uncomfortable time, I see it as a message to change. Whether I listen or not is up to me.
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Previous Daily Glow posts: What is Daily Glow?, Graduation Fears, The Silly Things We Say, Do What You Can…Today, What’s Your 6-Word Love Story?, Without Self-Love, I Have Nothing., Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, Kicking the Pop Habit: Eric 1 Year Later, Weekend Inspiration
I wonder if there was something to trigger this post…just interested ;)
Yes actually! I’m helping a friend with this right now.
This post could not have come at a better time. Thank you.
Love, you have no idea how relevant this post is in my life right now – you inspire me every day and I feel so lucky to have you in my life! xo
This is great. So inspirational and definitely relatable.
I very much appreciate the honesty you always give your readers. I, too, just went through a tough work situation and everyone was telling me how strong I was going to be when I came out on the other end. But in the middle, it was very hard to believe! Only now can I see it.
Thank you for this.
I really needed to read this today. I just wrote a post about my struggles with entering life after college. I’m not 100% happy working a 9-5 desk job, but I love coming home to my blog. I’m just trying to figure everything out, and I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s going through it :).
This is an amazing post, so happy you found your joy. We all have to go through the bad to get tot he good, and even get back to the bad again, the key is we keep living along the way!
Love this inspiring post! So glad you have found something that makes you happy and make you feel fulfilled :)
That our difficult times are to be learned from and grow from ..SO true Angela! I see it as our soul’s way of telling us we are ready for the next step…our energy is ready for the next level of enlightenment. It is so inspiring to see you doing just this …and sharing your path so generously with so many. Thank you for that.
holy this is exactly what i needed to read- i just finished having a 30 minute convo with my mom about how unhappy i am with the prospect of having to go back to school for 6 more years just to get a degree in something i am not sure i even want! i just want to be happy doing something more creative, something more inspiring, so that i dont have to spend each day saying to myself, “why am i doing this again?”
wow amazing post love! thank you for sharing your own story <3
xoxo <3
You’re so awesome. This is exactly what I needed to see today!
angela, your post today was exactly what i needed. i’ve been in mental misery for days as a result of bad choices that led to bad consequences. as i sat in this gloomy, self-loathing spot, i started to slowly realize that i could really learn from this mistake, and all my others that were essentially the same. i could get to the root of my unhappiness, discover alternate ways to cope with my anxiety and lack of self esteem, and turn my behavior around. it’s extremely difficult to look at myself and realize how much change needs to happen, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. i feel more empowered and i have a vision again. thank you for this post, your positivity, your food ideas, and your overall glow. you’re a great reminder of what manifesting can do and what a force positive intention has. THANK YOU.
i feel like you are speaking directly to me. a close relative was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago and found out yesterday that it has spread. it is very difficult to deal with, but it is important to hold your head high and to LEARN all that you can. you are amazing, angela. i check your blog every morning. this post couldn’t have come at a better time for me.
I’m sorry to hear that Lyndsay, but I love your spirit. I know you will come out on top! You sound like such a strong woman and inspiration to many!
We must have been on the same page today as my entire post was about changing paths! I wrote this earlier:
“Like many of us, I run from that which I’m afraid of and do everything in my power to prevent pain. But over the course of the past year and a half […] I’ve started to learn how to be comfortable with pain. How to, dare I say it, embrace the pain without judgement. Its not always easy and Universe knows I don’t always succeed but I am trying.”
Thank you for continuing to be an inspiration and voice of hope. :)
I love what you wrote about embracing it…that’s a great way to look at it! Sometimes it’s ok to just let it be, whatever that feeling is.
Thanks! Its not always easy but I’ve found it makes things easier in the long term…if that makes any sense!
Thank you so much for sharing this! What great advice to remember! I think I’m so scared of making a mistake all the time, I definitely need to be open to life’s experiences more!
What a gorgeous post, Angela! It’s so true. You’re so inspirational and give me much hope. Thank you!
I’m graduating with a food and nutrition degree in May, and I can’t wait to increase my blogging efforts, become a licensed nutritionist, and get my career started! Blogging has given me an outlet like no other…a platform to share my story of ED struggle in hopes of helping other women and men see the light at the end of the tunnel (hopefully with plant-based food involved! ;-).
I have been following your blog for some time now however this is my first time commenting. I love your blog! It truly inspires me to strive for a healthy lifestyle.
I was reading Chatelaine last night and I just wanted to CONGRATULATE you on making the women of the year list! Way to go! Amazing!
aww thank you so much!! I just saw it last night too.
Angela,
I am an avid reader of your blog and LOVE it.
I don’t ususally leave a comment because there are so many, but I just had to share how inspriational and uplifting you are. Love your vegan recipes as well..
Judee
Thank you Judee, that means a lot to me!
Angela, thank you.
you are such an inspriation to so many women.
i grew up in the southern italian culture, where it is the norm to view everything in life as pessimistic. Change was considered a scary and evil thing, and the status quo, no matter how bad, was always accepted.
I am truly grateful for parents who did not fit this typical norm, though i am surrounded by this negativity from both my husbands and mines extended family. It is difficult to deal with, though all i can focus on is me and my own mindset. I thank you for such beautiful words, i truly believe what your write is true. I have faced my father going through cancer three months before my wedding day and not knowing if he would be alive to walk me down the aisle. I have watched my dear brothers marriage break up, and i had a serious medical scare recently which forced me to stop trying for a baby for a year and left me with excessive weight to lose. This has all happened in such a short time span, But, i never give up hope. I know that difficulties happen for a reason. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. For expressing this in such a poignant post.
Message to change…I love this line…very powerful post…couldn’t agree more!