Daily Question, July 20 What strengths of character have I earned from the hardest times in my life? 29 Reflections Share Click here to cancel reply.Please log in or Create a Profile to post a comment. Notify me when someone replies to my comment via e-mail. Misty7 months agoMistyThe hardest times won’t last forever. Small acts of support from others can be powerful. You can cope with and get through more than you imagine. They way you perceive a situation is not the only way of looking at it. 0 Reply Sanchita7 months agoSanchitaIn my hardest times ..I jave leant to be independent. I have learnt self love and love for God. Faith in God. Patience. And also anything and everything given ..just take it and face it and let it leave you unaffected. 0 Reply Malag7 months agoMalagEndurance and the ability to find my way through. Sometimes you just need to keep going along the road. And as a wise person once said: when you come to a fork in the road, take it. 1 Reply 7 months agoit has helped me to see clearer what my values are 2 Reply Don Jones7 months agoDon JonesThey experientially build my understanding and openness to Grace. 2 Reply Melissa7 months agoMelissaI am just so relieved when the hard times are over. I always know something will come again to challenge me. I am always so grateful that I made it through and savor the years I am free of the burden knowing something will come again. We are human and on planet Earth this is our learning curve. To survive and stay whole even though it shows on our bodies and face. Like my mother used to tell me. "This too shall pass". I found through the years she was right. Which always gives me courage to kee...I am just so relieved when the hard times are over. I always know something will come again to challenge me. I am always so grateful that I made it through and savor the years I am free of the burden knowing something will come again. We are human and on planet Earth this is our learning curve. To survive and stay whole even though it shows on our bodies and face. Like my mother used to tell me. “This too shall pass”. I found through the years she was right. Which always gives me courage to keep moving forward. Read More4 Reply Present Moment7 months agoPresent MomentPatience, adaptability, courage 3 Reply Amy7 months agoAmyClearly resilience marked by the fact that when I left my last job, my coworkers make this cool picture that had three words that each person had written about me that were glued on a piece of paper that had our logo at the top and was put in a frame. The word that the person that put it together put in the center was "resilient" (and there were actually at least one or two more copies of that word that others had written, too. I didn't (still sometimes don't) see myself as resilient in hard tim...Clearly resilience marked by the fact that when I left my last job, my coworkers make this cool picture that had three words that each person had written about me that were glued on a piece of paper that had our logo at the top and was put in a frame. The word that the person that put it together put in the center was “resilient” (and there were actually at least one or two more copies of that word that others had written, too. I didn’t (still sometimes don’t) see myself as resilient in hard times but if others are seeing me that way, maybe it’s time to tell myself that I AM resilient. It has helped me in recent months to remember this. Read More3 Reply Mica7 months agoMicaA great delight to be, now, no longer in those hard times. 2 Reply Susan7 months agoSusanI’ve learned that I’m not alone in this catastrophe if life And that having self-compassion opens me to learning. 3 Reply Pilgrim7 months agoPilgrimSurvival instinct. 2 Reply Carol7 months agoCarolI don't know that we earn anything but hopefully we learn from the hard times. They are opportunities to evolve. As poet James Joyce wrote, "Mistakes are the portal to discovery." That quote from Joyce inspired me to write the following poem back in 2015. I titled it "Thoughts on Evolving." Re-member-ing Re-al-izing Re-lat-ing Re-ceiv-ing Re-triev-ing Re-joic-ing In this moment This awesome gift of Be-ing Be-ing open Be-ing willing To see more Than the little Me Evolution stir...I don’t know that we earn anything but hopefully we learn from the hard times. They are opportunities to evolve. As poet James Joyce wrote, “Mistakes are the portal to discovery.” That quote from Joyce inspired me to write the following poem back in 2015. I titled it “Thoughts on Evolving.” Re-member-ing Re-al-izing Re-lat-ing Re-ceiv-ing Re-triev-ing Re-joic-ing In this moment This awesome gift of Be-ing Be-ing open Be-ing willing To see more Than the little Me Evolution stirring Breathing greater Awareness Re-creating Opportunities Challenges Blessings From my miss-takes Cellular passions growing from within motivating and inviting me to rise from their ashes Re-newed. Read More3 Reply Pollyanna Gladwell7 months agoPollyanna GladwellLove the poem, Carol – especially “miss-takes”. Thank you and blessings. 2 Reply Zenith7 months agoZenithThe tough times have taught me what an amazing person I am and how amazing my parents were. The brought out my discipline and hardened into steel. They showed me the negatives of humanity and how stable I really am inside. They are also the reason why I fought to find a way through the confusion of it all. I am so thankful I set goals this year and stumbled on The Secret and all that gratefulness encompasses. I truly am an amazing person. 2 Reply Katrina7 months agoKatrinaThere are all kinds of situations that lead to "the hardest times of life". Each has brought different learnings for me. From some I have learned honesty with myself - what role if any did I play in bringing about this situation and what can I learn from that? From some I learned compassion, usually from those who practiced compassion with me. And still others, I learned fortitude, tenacity, and persistence - drawing on how I have seen others handle challenges in their lives. And I don't know th...There are all kinds of situations that lead to “the hardest times of life”. Each has brought different learnings for me. From some I have learned honesty with myself – what role if any did I play in bringing about this situation and what can I learn from that? From some I learned compassion, usually from those who practiced compassion with me. And still others, I learned fortitude, tenacity, and persistence – drawing on how I have seen others handle challenges in their lives. And I don’t know that self-care is a strength of character, but I have learned that it is very important to me surviving well in the hardest times of my life – a decent diet, healthy activity, prayer/meditation/, a hobby or something that is gratifying for my soul. Read More5 Reply pkr7 months agopkrMy hard times have strengthened my faith and trust in a higher power. I have also earned “my stripes” in resilience, patience, kindness and compassion. I have learned to appreciate the good times when they come and to be grateful for everything, the good and the bad. 4 Reply Michele7 months agoMicheleLove. 4 Reply Maeve7 months agoMaevePersistence in the face of struggle. Keeping on going with the daily tasks and chores. Doing what needs to be done; watering and weeding the garden, teaching the students online, even when it’s an effort. Having the courage to speak my mind. Going for that evening and morning walk. Stretching and doing my yoga routine. Taking a deep breath, and doing what needs to be done in the face of an unknown situation. Asking for help from others. 6 Reply KC7 months agoKCThank you for mentioning the challenge of asking for help from others. I find that a tough one! 1 Reply Carol7 months agoCarolThe willingness to ask for help from others has been a tremendous challenge for me. It’s taken years and years to develop that willingness. 3 Reply Pollyanna Gladwell7 months agoPollyanna GladwellI find the use of the word “earned” to be significant in this question with its similarity to the word “learned”. Once I have experienced challenges and look back, I can see what I have earned and if I then incorporate this into my life, I have learned a new way of handling the hard times to come. And come they will! For much of my life my default setting in the face of hardship was self-pity for not having what I wanted or having too much of what I didn’t want. It led to depression...I find the use of the word “earned” to be significant in this question with its similarity to the word “learned”. Once I have experienced challenges and look back, I can see what I have earned and if I then incorporate this into my life, I have learned a new way of handling the hard times to come. And come they will! For much of my life my default setting in the face of hardship was self-pity for not having what I wanted or having too much of what I didn’t want. It led to depression.Each new life challenge will have different circumstances and will require a different strength and if I don’t already have it, I will have to learn it. But to learn anything I have to practice.The Dalai Lama said “If you lose, don’t lose the lesson”, today’s quote says “When the waves close over me, I dive down to fish for pearls” or, in more popular culture terms, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade”.Today, as the result of hard times, I have gratefulness, wisdom, empathy, perseverance and other strengths of character, but there are times I still have to work hard at using the tools to practice them and increase my strength. Diving for pearls! And the most useful tool is self-reflection. As was inscribed on the Temple of Apollo – Know Thyself! I have the willingness to examine my thoughts, feelings and behaviour, admit my mistakes and make amends where possible and appropriate. Read More3 Reply Trish7 months agoTrishLike many others, I allowed God to fill my life after fumbling in the dark for the longest time. The strength, courage & peace I get from my relationship with God has changed my life exponentially. My quest to see every person as a beloved child of God is coming closer to fruition (I still struggle) & my willingness and ability to see “the big picture” has increased. I’m kinder, express my love & attempt to live an honest life which means telling my ego she can take a rest. Whe...Like many others, I allowed God to fill my life after fumbling in the dark for the longest time. The strength, courage & peace I get from my relationship with God has changed my life exponentially. My quest to see every person as a beloved child of God is coming closer to fruition (I still struggle) & my willingness and ability to see “the big picture” has increased. I’m kinder, express my love & attempt to live an honest life which means telling my ego she can take a rest. Whew! I sure am thankful for those hardships that led me to God. Read More3 Reply Maria7 months agoMariaUnfortunately I think I tend to dwell more on my weakness after being challenged and rarely acknowledge the strengths of character that help me to grow, learn and move on. 3 Reply 1 2 Next » My Private Gratitude Journal Write an entry in your private gratefulness journal Get Started This site is brought to you by A Network for Grateful Living, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All donations are fully tax deductible in the U.S.A. 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