Weathering Life’s Storms: Finding Hope and Growth

Are you currently in a “stormy” time of your life?

Do you seem lost in a figurative thunderstorm?

You are not alone. I heard the quote below many years ago and it still holds true today.

“Whenever you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble … and you will be right more than half the time” — Henry B. Eyring

So this is for the 50+ percent of you who are seriously struggling. And for all of us that may be going through something difficult at some point in the near future.

The Overwhelming Storm

Sometimes life feels like more than we can bear. Have you ever gone into the shower as part of your routine and found yourself lying down as the water rolled over you? This has happened to me twice in my life.

Both times were because I have been hit within the last couple of weeks with a trial that didn’t seem to be going away. I was living off of adrenaline trying to make everything. Adrenaline isn’t supposed to sustain you long term and when I get in the shower and have a chance to think about the reality of my situation the emotions overcome me.

You may not collapse in the shower like I do, but think of your low points. Where were you? How did you cope?

As mentioned above, some of you may be there right now.

While I can’t fix your problems, let me share some insights from my own experience with these types of struggles and I’ll hopefully you’ll find something valuable.

1. Acknowledge the Storm

The 2018 Boston Marathon was one of the worst in weather running days in Boston history. My Father qualified to run in this race. Races, especially a race like the Boston Marathon, require huge amounts of training and preparation. No one could have anticipated the weather they were going to experience. The winners of this race got the slowest finish time since 1978 and 1976 for women and men respectively.

Would it have helped the racers finish faster if they had pretended that the storm wasn’t there? Of course not.

Pretending our challenge doesn’t exist will only hurt our success. Doing so will only cause you to find yourself curled up in your shower crying after the conditions finally get to you and you run out of adrenaline.

The first step in addressing any problem is acknowledging that it exists and how it is impacting you. Only then can you start to move forward.

2. Stop Comparing

The world of social media in which we live makes it so easy to compare every aspect of our lives to someone who is doing amazing in that aspect of their lives. This robs us of joy and can result in perpetual depression.

One of the reasons we keep pushing ourselves so long without addressing the problem is because we think for some reason we shouldn’t need help. After all, so-and-so can handle their problems just fine.

That person you think has it all figured out could have spent their morning curled up in their shower as well.

Going back to the 2018 Boston Marathon example, would it be fair to say those racers were somehow worse than all racers for the last 40 years? Of course not.

They had to take into account the conditions in which they ran. Similarly, we have to take into account the conditions of our life. We can’t expect to be 100% all of the time. Life happens. And we have to make the most of it.

3. Wait for the Rainbow

The picture above shows the most beautiful rainbow that I have ever seen. As with most nature pictures, the picture doesn’t do it justice. What this picture doesn’t convey is that it was raining and the wind was blowing. My kids didn’t want to go outside because it would cause them to get wet, but we managed to pull them outside to appreciate it.

Storms are the price of rainbows.

When going through a rough patch we can know that a rainbow will come. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. All storms eventually pass.

Figuratively these rainbows represent the person we become through the trial. Challenges bless us to become better people with a more well-rounded mindset. Trials can bless us with a new set of skills that will help us through the rest of our lives. Struggling deeply also creates empathy when a friend of ours finds themselves during a low point in their lives.

Conclusion