Trouble With The Curve

Trials build strength. No intelligent person would suggest otherwise. If we're to be honest, the hard times that life seems to bring our way on a daily basis serve to define who we are, minute by minute. Meanwhile, so much of our energy is spent avoiding difficult situations. How then do we expect to grow and learn? Sure, for a short while we may be able to sidestep hardships in some form. For example,we can choose what relationships we invest our time with, and in so doing, avoid potential drama from harmful interactions. We can try to make wise financial decisions, that will do our families more good than harm, However, at some point, we will all be faced with circumstances we sought to avoid at all costs. When this happens, there will be no pill to take, no check to write. No apology will matter, no change in thinking will spare us from a life altering event. We simply cannot control the circumstances or people in our lives, we can only control our reactions and/or willingness to learn from them.

Hardships transcend all walks of life. Money provides no shelter. Geography guarantees no solace. Some may suffer their hardships in silence, but everyone will suffer difficult times. In fact, if you find a person with a seemingly perfect existence, the sort that seems to have life all figured out, my experience has been that such a person is hurting more than most.
The truth is, if you feel like your health is failing, or your relationships are not rewarding, and your job is not to your liking, you are a person whose life is full of rich opportunities. Will you seize them?

Even the novice baseball player with a few years of experience can hit a fastball on a regular basis.
What makes that same player a professional among the elite in the world is what they do when faced with a curveball.