Gloom, despair, agony (people of a certain age might be reminded of a song right about now). All are emotional responses to hardships. We’ve all experienced these events and these emotions, yet some people seem to have a different perspective on these events – have they found benefits in suffering? I believe they have – and you can find them too.
While we will all experience hardships of all sorts in our lives, what we do with them are choices we can make. But the choices we make are connected to the perspective and viewpoint that we have – so let’s start there.
How Do You See Hardships?
Through the lens of our ancestors, many of our hardships wouldn’t seem all that big. A delayed cross-country flight isn’t much compared to a treacherous, months-long journey from the same starting and ending point. Or the power being off for a few hours, compared to not having yet harnessed electricity. Some people I know call these small challenges “First World problems.” This perspective itself helps us move past these inconveniences with a new, more helpful perspective.
But hardships come in bigger sizes than those. What about the unexpected loss of a family member, friend, or job? What about a health challenge or environmental calamity? These aren’t just “First World problems” - these happenings represent the realities of life. If you see these as personal affronts to you, as reasons for blame or anxiety, we will likely live in the suffering longer – and not find the benefits of suffering that can be there – if we see them.
What are the Benefits of Suffering?
There are plenty of benefits that can come from suffering. Some of those that seem most generally true (across people and situations) include:
- Building Resilience and Confidence. Making it through one hardship proves to yourself that you can cope with future challenges. Suffering can enhance your ability to cope with future challenges.
- Gaining Perspective. Difficult experiences often provide a broader perspective on life, helping you appreciate the good times and see through the next challenge.
- Fostering Empathy. When you move through hardships, you are better able to be empathetic towards others in similar situations.
- Sparking Creativity. Adversity can fuel creativity and innovation – which you need to deal with the hardships you face.
- Strengthening Relationships. Shared suffering can bring people closer together, strengthen connections, and build community.
- Increasing Personal Growth and Learning. Overcoming hardships can lead to new insights, learning and growth. One of the biggest benefits of suffering is what we can learn through a challenging situation.
I am not saying we need to seek out or search for suffering, but we also don’t need to work harder than necessary to avoid it either. When you look at this list of benefits of suffering, we can begin to view hardships as an opportunity at least as much as a challenge.
How Can You Use These Ideas as a Leader?
All these benefits of suffering listed above can also help us as leaders. Beyond that, I believe that the perspective we gain through our own growth and learning can be shared with others in a mentoring and helpful way. The point isn’t to downplay or minimize the hardships of your team but help them see through another lens – a lens of possibility and benefit rather than suffering, concern and worry.
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