Your Financial Struggles Can Actually Be Good Thing

We do not choose to have financial struggles. Inevitably these struggles will hit all of us. Financial struggles are not the only things we all will have to go through, but they will certainly add to the mayhem of our lives. They are not fun, but maybe they are aren’t as pointless and terrible as we think.

Understanding Your Situation

Your current situation might seem tough, but it is actually better than you think. Going through these periods where finances or other areas of life are not going as planned may actually be a good thing. Before you begin to fear the worst in these situations, understand these times can be beneficial to your lives.

Growth In Adversity

The adversities we all endure are not pointless. They are beneficial because they allow us to grow and be shaped into someone better than we were before. This is not an uncommon understanding. In fact, we have people telling us this stuff all of the time, but often in more subtle ways. For example, think of the song “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson? The lyrics clearly state, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” (Kelly Clarkson). Although this can be translated to relate to love and relationships, it is also ambiguous in the sense of life. When you honestly think about it, when you are struck with adversity, does it literally kill you? No, of course not! Well, not typically. Thus, you are able to learn from what you went through and are better off for it!

Shaping Your Future

As you grow through the different struggles in life, your character and values take shape. You are not the same person you were a year ago, and you won’t be the same person a year from now either. The only thing you have to discover for yourself is, what kind of changes do you want to see? Pain and hardship of life can certainly make us cynical, tired, bitter, and even angry. However, if we let those characteristics shape how we live, what kind of person are you going to see you have changed into in the future? Instead, what if you used all of the stuff you have dealt with and yet to deal with as learning opportunities? Use these experiences and hardships to learn what not to do, how to plan better, or how to apply better virtues to live.

The Finance Of It All

Most of this has been deeper life talk, however, let’s bring it back to finances. So often I have heard stories of friends, colleagues, and family who have just about given up when life hits them with these hard times. In most cases, they are a repeat offenders of having hardships. They claim different excuses for it happening to them or they get defensive and tell us why we don’t have to deal with their troubles. I have heard it all. The truth of the matter is, we are all repeat offenders of hardships. The only difference between us is how we have reacted and learned. I am not saying we are better or perfect, no. Rather, I am saying we have thought about what got us in certain situations and how to avoid them. We have pulled ourselves out of dark times only to learn and grow from them. It is far easier to stay in the abyss of financial despair and claim that we got a raw deal in life. Sadly though, the only one who is giving a bad deal is you. You do not have to live with financial hardships, you can overcome them. In the end, there is no set amount of money, job, or hero who will fix where you are at. In the end, you are your worst enemy or your best ally.