What
These chapters in the manifesto were very interesting to read this week. Throughout the chapters, the most interesting chapter to me was chapter 13 titled “Embrace the Beautiful Struggle”. This chapter was describing a trip where the author went to explore the rainforest ecosystem. There, they endured the grueling environment while trying to witness the connection between man and the environment (Novogratz, 2020, pg. 218). The author ended up explaining that the struggle of being in that environment ultimately was what made it so rewarding. When you struggle for something and it is not given to you right away, you earn a new perspective. Think about it, if you were to win the lottery, you would feel good, but that feeling would be very temporary. Compared to if you worked for that same amount of money, when you finally achieved your financial goal, you would have a lot more appreciation for where that money came from.
So What
Why does this lesson matter? This is such an important subject to learn and understand because in life, there will always be struggles and challenges. As an athlete, my coach always talks about sacrifice and suffering. Wrestling is one of those sports where the person who suffers the most and puts themselves through the hardest practices is going to win. The struggles the person goes through ultimately determines how they will be rewarded in the end. This book talked about the same. When people can create beauty even in the darkest times is when they really understand life (Novogratz, 2020, pg. 221). These people who can do this are also the people you will find to be the happiest in life. I think it is safe to say that every person in history has had at least a couple major setbacks in their life. Here is a great link that describes how to take bad times in life and turn them into positives https://createbalanceandfindinghappiness.wordpress.com/2018/06/12/turning-setbacks-into-triumphs/.
Now What
How does someone take this information moving forward? I would take it as inspiration. If there is one thing you can learn from this book and from life in general, its that there will be challenges and everybody has to go through them. Some people will experience challenge more than others, but in the end, everyone is in the same boat. The people that learn how to take these challenges and struggles and grow from them are the ones who end up being successful and happy in life. Like my coach always says “embrace the grind and become addicted to the struggle”. If you are able to frame your mind to actually enjoy struggle, you will be able to overcome it that much more. As a future leader, it is very important that I take this principle and put it to work everyday. I need to be able to overcome my own struggles to influence the people around me to do the same. Here is an awesome link that talks about the influences teammates have on each other https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180829115519.htm. When I can take my own struggles and turn them into positives, it will not only be better for me but for my team as well.
References
Novogratz, J. (2020), Manifesto for Moral Revolution. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
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