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Writer's pictureWilliam Montalvo

Sometimes Struggle is Progress.




Most of us would probably like the things we try to do to “go well.” We often hate to have to struggle and fight through a complicated set of obstacles and problems on the way to completing something. It does not feel good to go through difficulties. To encounter resistance to the things we want to accomplish. The book that becomes increasingly difficult to write, the degree that becomes a nightmare to finish, the struggle of forcing yourself to draw every day only to end up with less than satisfactory drawings. The difficulties we encounter can often make us question the entire path we are on. It’s possible to forget why we even set off in a direction entirely.


We think of the binary choice as being to struggle doing this or to do something else that is more rewarding and beneficial for ourselves and others. But that choice is often a mirage. Everything that you try to do will require struggle at some point. The real choice is to do and struggle or to not do and not struggle. That career that seems like a total escape from the one you are on now, that solves all the problems you have now, has its own set of problems and tradeoffs. Maybe you quit art to go to law school but hate being a lawyer. Maybe law starts out interesting in school until you hit your first bad case, or bad boss. Your escape career can become incredibly challenging too. Avoiding struggle could lead you into another kind of struggle.


This leaves you with the real choice. To do or not to do. To fight the resistance of a thing you really want to accomplish or to find ways to avoid that resistance. But that resistance is often the path to your growth. Great projects are often going to come at the cost of some resistance and struggle. And by focusing on what you really want and overcoming resistance you can improve. To the point where you start to see beginners struggling to climb mountains that you have already climbed and see how small those old mountains really were.


It may be beneficial to reframe struggle. Not as something to be avoided, but as a sign that we are making progress. Getting closer to that completed book or painting. Closer to that degree or license. Each "painful" step a bit closer to the summit that you are aiming for.



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