There’s a saying that: the down times are needed for us to be able to recognize & appreciate all the up times. Perspective. W/o perspective, it’s hard to appreciate what we DO have.
Struggles are typically more intense than routine “down times.” They often last way longer (could be a life-long struggle), & they typically test our fortitude.
The “but” is, much like the down times, the struggles give us perspective. They reveal what we have super powers TO DO.
It’s impossible to compare struggles, person-to-person. We are each wired differently…we each have diff epigenetics. The only common thread is, we all go thru struggles at various pts in our lives.
Looking back literally ANY struggle you’ve been thru (or are even currently going thru), have you not/did you not discover your strengths?
We grow up & are led to believe our strengths are things like: athleticism, artistic ability, intelligence on tests, musical abilities, etc. I’d put those more in the category of skills than I would strengths.
These struggles we all face – they reveal what strengths we have – beyond anything we learn in subjects in school or even on the ball field or performances.
Excited to be visiting 2 more schools this wk (in upstate NY), Elba Central & Lake Shore Central, to deliver msgs like these. Leroy Collins from the NFLPA is coming along w me to share his story. The dude was run over by a truck as a young kid – went thru major trauma, all the way to make it to the roster of an NFL team – the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Some of us face those struggles before others…but if we talk abt them openly, & how they reveal our greatest strengths, we prepare each other for perspective to get thru & thrive above almost anything.
(Side note, we apologize for the s&ppresslon we receive from IG. They cut our post reach basically in 1/10 when it’s a msg in the space of MH, not about meds or disorder labels. Why? Bc this is what their advertisers sell…& msgs that provide hope in other ways, hurt their sales. But we won’t change. Our priority is putting out msgs of healing & hope. Keep the faith we will break down this wall, in-person visits & beyond).