Embrace The Struggle: The Heart of Human Flourishing
Read Time: 4 minutes
Life, as we are learning, is a game.
It is a different kind of competition that requires a different kind of training, but the opponent is just as relentless.
And, like any competitive endeavor, winning the game of life necessitates the same unwavering commitment to the process.
I sometimes worry that when talking about flourishing, the above point gets lost, and we get a false impression that flourishing is something other than a “lived experience”.
In this issue, I want to remind everyone what flourishing is really about by highlighting how the human experience is greatly diminished when we disengage from the process of living in the intersection.
Losing The Inner Game
We understand the cost of complacency in competition. We know that a lapse in focus, a moment of hesitation, can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
Well, the same principle applies to life. It’s important to note that even small discrepancies between belief and behavior can have significant consequences towards your desired outcomes.
In today’s world, It is too easy to let the gap widen between what we believe and how we live.
To tell ourselves it’s “okay” to compromise, to let our actions contradict our beliefs and values.
But just as we wouldn’t tolerate this in competition, we can’t afford to let our inner game slip.
The opponent here isn’t a rival team; it’s the insidious illusion of an “easy,” struggle-free life. It’s temptation, fear, and doubt whispering in our ear, telling us to take the path of least resistance.
And when we give in, we lose!
We lose our edge, our integrity, our sense of purpose. We lose the ability to contribute our peak potential.
Life incongruence undermines our faith, sapping the inner strength that is fueled by genuine conviction.
Truly integrated human beings live according to their deepest convictions.
The human experience is often marked by internal conflict and the struggle to live up to our ideals. Recognizing this struggle and fighting for alignment is essential.
Realizing our truest potential is tied to this unity between belief and action.
Training for Authenticity
Authenticity is about how we navigate our unique circumstances, how we grapple with our inner conflicts, and how we strive to align our actions with our beliefs and values.
It's less about meeting external standards and more about cultivating inner integrity, through raising our own standards.
Just as we train our body to perform in sport, we must now train to live authentically.
This is our new training regimen that comes with living in the intersection, our new competitive arena.
We have practiced drills to build muscle memory; now, we practice self-awareness and perspective to build internal fortitude.
We have reviewed game film to identify weaknesses; now, we examine our lifestyles to confront our inconsistencies.
We have pushed through pain to reach our physical limits; now, we push through discomfort to find the courage to align our thoughts, beliefs and actions.
Flourishing is not about achieving some unattainable ideal. It’s about staying in the fight, about refusing to let the opponent win by default.
It’s about sharpening our inner edge, about reclaiming the motivation, focus and discipline that helped us win in athletics.
We all understand that the most satisfying victory doesn’t come without a fight. Life is no different.
The best things in life are absolutely worth fighting for.
Embrace the struggle, train for authenticity, and reclaim the competitive spirit necessary to stay the course.
When we are training and fighting for our inner and outer lives to be in harmony, we experience a sense of wholeness and purpose — We are flourishing!
Stay The Course,
