Bernie Siegel Challenges

Learning to deal with and overcoming adversity is what made me who I am. Every challenge and every difficulty I’ve successfully confronted in my life served as a way to strengthen my will, confidence and ability to conquer future obstacles. A famous quote I liked came from Herodotus, the Greek philosopher, who said, "Adversity has the effect of drawing out strength and qualities of a man that would have lain dormant in its absence.” When I responded positively and constructively to my biggest challenges, the qualities of strength, courage, character and perseverance emerged from deep within, because I am human, it was very easy to get caught up in the self-pity, unfairness of life, or the “why me?” trap. When I did think like that, I learned that I failed to recognize the opportunities for wisdom and growth that accompanied adversity. However, as soon as I allowed myself to think more clearly, I was able to let go of self-defeating and unproductive thoughts and get down to the business of dealing with what was happening before me and what can happen for me in my future. My failures and setbacks have nothing to do with me being a menace to society instead I had to realize it’s something every human being goes through. It’s a part of life and has everything to do with being human. Circumstances to me now mean nothing. Limitations don’t hold me back.

Throughout the past couple of months my fellow peers and I have been studying the topic ‘challenge’ and how it affects our lives and people around us. In our everyday lives we are confronting challenges, some are as small as walking up a few steps, and some are larger and more challenging that could be life or death circumstances.

“Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” What the Roman poet Horace was saying was that when there is an obstacle in our way, our true colors will radiate. I could not agree more. When we as human beings feel passionate about achieving a goal, we may learn something new of ourselves, maybe a new trait that we did not know we possessed, when we reach new heights we did not know we could push ourselves towards. Challenges are similar to tests. Challenges are faced every day, but how we respond to them determines how strong we really are. Prime examples are superheroes and students that move dramatically.

Many challenges hold us back but when we overcome them, we are left with a greater prize which is making ourselves a better

As much as I wished to live through uninterrupted success, I’ve come to accept with a much more open mind that the best way to face challenges is to do so with

e. “What doesn’t kill us make us stronger.” When you’re faced with challenges, look at them as an opportunity for personal growth. Reflect on the choices you make and learn from your mistakes.

trying to change or overcome obstacles can be damaging. Life is full of struggles, but it

When we face challenges in life that are far beyond our own power, it 's an opportunity to build on our

Since my younger years I have been compelled to differentiate between enduring and overcoming. From my parent’s divorce, our financial instability and my multiple social dislocations, I had to learn to adapt to ever-changing environments and circumstances. Before my grandfather died he shared with me one of his favorite quotes and one that I will never forget, which says that, “the key to life is found by

Life is like an obstacle course, you run into multiple obstacles on the way to the finish line, and there's no telling how many hindrances you may encounter. Very few people can go their whole life without obstacles along the way, others can’t seem to get away from them, but with every obstacle comes a beneficial or deleterious concomitant.

Challenges throughout life can shape an individual in myriad ways; however, a few challenges can change an individual’s life. Moreover, these changes can change one’s life positively or negatively. Furthermore, if citizens do not challenge themselves, they may never encounter anything that benefits them to their full potential or something that one may enjoy. Last, life is not easy thus; one must go through difficulties in order to gain benefits.

Time goes by fast when things are getting done. Experiences are etched into people’s minds when they share moments of love or hatred. Martin Luther King Jr. once said in a speech “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.” Through any measure of suffering and pain, people who pledge themselves to be stronger than before are able to defeat a failure mindset.  The books Push by Sapphire and The Power Of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg both demonstrate that the single indicator of human growth is to advance and push one’s limit by changing a habit or becoming motivated through

The most significant challenge that I faced is culture difference. Born in Indonesia, continuing education on America and being an international student has not been easy on me. This has been an issue for me when I leave high school early and when to a community college in Seattle. At that time, I was not even 18 years old and having difficulty when communicating with people.

Everyone experiences adversity. Challenges that everyday people experience can potentially shape, improve, or destroy one's sense of self and personality. Through all these hardships and seemingly impenetrable obstacles, the most pertinent component of one's ability to overcome can only be shown in actions taken despite the odds. People have one of two options; to let those obstacles overwhelm them and keep them from pursuing all that they were destined to accomplish, or to march forward, fight harder and push past the seemingly impossible circumstances to become greater than they ever expected to be, but until they take the step that enables them to be successful -- they are stranded. All of our actions, mistakes, successes, and behaviors shape our person and what we can or cannot become, but what will always matter is our individual decisions and actions not those of the people around us because at the end of the day, we are the ones who have to deal with ourselves.

‘It is when I struggle that I strengthen. It is when challenged to my core that I learn the depth of who I am.’ I kept on repeating this to myself waiting for my campus interview in the final year. Sitting there with fervor, I entered the room with utmost confidence. The whole interview was not just technical but challenged my grit, determination and presence of mind. And after coming out of the interview, I just knew I had grabbed the opportunity. That day taught me; challenges can make you or break you; it all depends on you.