4 ms·

I've found that hardship seems to be the best at imparting wisdom. Several years out of college I don't think I was very different from the day I graduated, but

I've found that hardship seems to be the best at imparting wisdom. Several years out of college I don't think I was very different from the day I graduated, but then one day something happened to me and I was suicidally depressed for months and experiencing immense amounts of pain every day. When I came out the other side I was a different person. People kept telling me: This is an opportunity. You can use it to grow if you want. I think I did, and I think it taught me that as much as it sucked, I gained something I would not have otherwise have had from the experience.

metavrsl 8y ago
I’ve felt the same way in the last few years since college. Been a ‘similar’ situation but I can definitely tell that all this time I’ve spent working on myself, reading philosophy, etc is just starting to pay off. Not saying it’s ideal but trying to learn as much as you can when you’re in a hard place might help you out.
all2 8y ago
Using your anecdote (and my own personal experience) I would venture a guess that pain and suffering can change a willing person more than any other kind of experience. I spent a long time ignoring discomfort (pain-light) in my life. When I started nosing into the discomfort, the pain, and the hard things, I started to change. I had to be willing to do it, though, be willing to face that I was wrong, acknowledging that even the criticisms I had of myself were wrong. I have changed more in the last year than I have over the rest of my life. The change has been huge.
WalterBright 8y ago
My father said he wouldn't trade his WW2 experience for anything, and wouldn't go through it again for anything.
BlackjackCF 8y ago
I agree. I'm always thankful that I had a really hard time in high school and college (and spent a majority of my high school and college years working.) I felt that when I graduated from college, I had a much easier time hunting for work than my peers. I also adjusted easily to startup hours, because they were still much less severe than the combined hours I had to put in for school on top of work to pay rent in college.
hef19898 8y ago
Yeah, stuff like thus makes the difference. Privileged people living protected lives, which luckily is the norm everywhere in first world countries by historical standards today, jusz don't have to think about hard life threatening stuff anymore. Which is good zhing. But it also leaves one unprepared for the moment something life threatening happens. When it does, and you liflve through it, you come out as a changed and hopefully wiser person.
fapjacks 8y ago
I've always said the key to utopia is shared hardship.

metavrsl 8y ago

I’ve felt the same way in the last few years since college. Been a ‘similar’ situation but I can definitely tell that all this time I’ve spent working on myself, reading philosophy, etc is just starting to pay off. Not saying it’s ideal but trying to learn as much as you can when you’re in a hard place might help you out.

all2 8y ago

Using your anecdote (and my own personal experience) I would venture a guess that pain and suffering can change a willing person more than any other kind of experience. I spent a long time ignoring discomfort (pain-light) in my life. When I started nosing into the discomfort, the pain, and the hard things, I started to change. I had to be willing to do it, though, be willing to face that I was wrong, acknowledging that even the criticisms I had of myself were wrong. I have changed more in the last year than I have over the rest of my life. The change has been huge.

WalterBright 8y ago

My father said he wouldn't trade his WW2 experience for anything, and wouldn't go through it again for anything.

BlackjackCF 8y ago

I agree. I'm always thankful that I had a really hard time in high school and college (and spent a majority of my high school and college years working.) I felt that when I graduated from college, I had a much easier time hunting for work than my peers. I also adjusted easily to startup hours, because they were still much less severe than the combined hours I had to put in for school on top of work to pay rent in college.

hef19898 8y ago

Yeah, stuff like thus makes the difference. Privileged people living protected lives, which luckily is the norm everywhere in first world countries by historical standards today, jusz don't have to think about hard life threatening stuff anymore. Which is good zhing. But it also leaves one unprepared for the moment something life threatening happens. When it does, and you liflve through it, you come out as a changed and hopefully wiser person.

fapjacks 8y ago

I've always said the key to utopia is shared hardship.