Many times we wish for a quick fix to move rapidly through some challenging times.

• Financial struggles – We wish the lottery numbers would come our way or that long lost Uncle Harry shows up on the doorstep with a briefcase full of money…don’t count on it.
• Business struggles – We wish our first product would be the “must have” product for the market and we struggle to keep up with demand…don’t count on it.
• Family struggles – For the most painful of all of life’s struggles, those in the home, we wish those dark times in a marriage or those “know it all” teenage attitudes could just be avoided…don’t count on it.
• And why can’t our YouTube video go viral like so many others? Don’t count on it.

Although it may seem like a great option, the quick fix to struggles actually does more harm than good.  There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that shows a quick fix is not the most effective path to reach our full potential.  When a quick fix arrives, we end up wasteful and most often unhappy when the “fix” fades away and the “fix” always fades away sooner than we think it can.

As we continue on our journey to build and strengthen our character, it is important that we make the choice to embrace the struggle of the journey as we would not want it any other way.  It is highly unlikely that the lottery solves our problems, the next big thing scales our business and somehow we enter a period of family bliss like the TV shows of our youth.

Below are a few reasons to help encourage all of us to embrace the struggles and enjoy that fact that we will need to work hard for a long time to succeed in the marketplace, save our marriage and raise our children effectively in this uncertain and complicated world.

1. A sense of peace from a “hard day’s work.” There is no quick fix that can surpass the peace experienced after successfully enduring a long struggle.  Whether that is the completion of a difficult physical workout, the reflections after a graduation, the silver or gold anniversary celebration, or the signing of a major business transaction.  We rise above the pain of the struggles and reflect peacefully on the journey that we walked through to reach a major goal.  No quick fix can match that feeling of overcoming through a long journey.
2. Continual learning and personal growth. The reality is that we only learn through the struggles.  Ask any coach at any level of play.  Teams learn more from a loss than a win.  We learn more from poor product launches than when they go well.  Struggles bring personal growth and growth leads us down the path to reach our full potential.
3. Setting the example for others to follow. Whether it is coworkers, family members, or friends in the community, we are being observed.  We set a strong example for others to follow when we embrace the opportunity of the struggle.  The spirit to continue is contagious and we light a spark for someone else to continue in their own, often unspoken, difficult struggle.

As we face the reality that a quick fix to our problems is not in the cards and we learn to embrace the struggles of hard work, disappointment, and outright confusion, we will continue to build and strengthen our character and Character Creates Opportunity® to reach our full potential.