Adversity makes you stronger

I was talking with our youngest son this morning about something not related to this blog and I told him, "Adversity makes you stronger." He told me he did not know what that meant. That got me thinking...I know, watch out. Adversity is never anything we wish for because that means that there are struggles and no one likes to struggle. No one wishes that their loved ones struggle. Yet, it is there for all of us. Sometimes, even when we don't think it will be. I spent the next few minutes trying to explain to him that if everything came "easy", then it wouldn't mean as much nor would you feel like you had to work for it. In our family, we have raised our sons not to quit because something got difficult - we have taught them to work harder to get through it because it is difficult. My oldest son had a baseball shirt that read, "We never said it would be easy. We said it would be worth it." I see so many parents in my job that want to make their kids' mistakes "go away" because that is easy. We also believe in sending the message so expectations are never hidden. When we are down, on our knees, feeling like we do not have the strength to stand, that is when it all comes from within. The strength to stand and fight for what we want - to do all we can to make it better than it was before. We cannot win all of the time at everything - no one can. But we can always reach for success and keep trying. Wayne Gretzky said, "100% of the shots you never take ever go in." You are going to fail so expect that to happen. But you will learn something each time you do. You will learn what kind of person you are and what you want and what you are willing to do to get what you want. Adversity comes in many different forms - in comes in people, situations, and things that we will never be able to change. Be strong today. You will be grateful that you did. Imagine what you can do with the strength you now have!!