Strength comes from struggle. Moses was not born with a silver spoon. He was born to slaves and was lucky enough to grow up in the palace of kings. He never knew what it meant to face adversity. He had everything he needed as the adopted son of the daughter of kings.

Things took a turn for the worse when he tried to fight for the rights of his brothers. He killed to achieve that. He fled into exile when it occurred to him that people knew about the murder.

Running away from the palace where he had security and good things in life exposed him to the other side of life. He struggled to survive and took a job as a shepherd. Can you imagine how difficult it is to suddenly become a sheepherder from the status of a son of kings.

For every fight, there is a seed of equivalent benefit and opportunity. His own opportunity was to learn to be patient and positively influence others. It took him 40 years to master the skill. From then on he became a great leader and liberator.

Does struggle or adversity have something significant to add to our lives? What are the benefits and opportunities in fighting? We will find answers in this writing.

From the laboratory of Thomas Edison came the fluorescent lamp. He failed 10,000 times before discovering the formula that worked. We may not care how many years it took him, but one thing that is certain is that he battled the forces of failure and fought to survive with great persistence. Every time he had failed, he would say to himself ‘I have discovered another method that doesn’t work’.

The strongest trees in the forest are not the most protected, they are the ones that must fight the elements and other trees and overcome them to survive.

Who says there is no profit in fighting? Martin Luther King Junior led the campaign for civil rights in the United States. Although assassinated at his best, the fight opened new opportunities and doors of freedom for blacks. Some fifty years later, the current US president, Barack Obama, is enjoying great benefits from that fight.

Adversity unlocks the benefits of cumulative education as a result of the experience we accumulate. The fight gives wisdom and strength enough for our needs. Nelson Mandela became very influential and popular in South Africa and the world. He was elected as the first black president in that country, a direct benefit of the fight, but he never came on a gold platter. He spent 25 years in the gulag as a result of his opposition to the government’s policy of apatheid.

Pain hardens the human spirit. Decide not to follow the path of least resistance in life. Without the strength of character that comes from struggle, we would be sorely tempted to flow through life with little purpose or plan.

In the words of Napoleon Hill, ‘Once we understand the larger purpose of life, we are reconciled to the circumstances that force us to struggle. As a result, we accept the fight for what it is: an opportunity.

One of the great benefits of wrestling is that it forces us to move when we would otherwise stand still. This leads to the full understanding that success only comes through struggle. Show me a successful person and I’ll show you someone who has struggled in life.

Life is a struggle, and the rewards are for those who meet the difficulty head-on, overcome it, and move on to the next challenge. Don’t avoid it. Accept it and use it to help you learn, grow and succeed.