BENEFITS
OF STRUGGLING
By, Anonymous

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One d=y a small opening  appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours =s it struggled to  force its body through that little hole.
 
Then it seemed to stop making any progress= It appeared as if  it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the  remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily.

But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man  continued to watch
the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the  wings would enlarge
and expand to be able to support the body, which would  contract in time.

Neither happened!

In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling  around with a swollen
body and shriveled wings.

It never was able to fly.
  
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was  that the restricting
cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get  through the tiny
opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the  butterfly into its
wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved  its freedom from the
cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If  God allowed us to go through
our life without any obstacles= it would cripple  us. We would not be as strong
as what we could have been.

And we could never fly.

I think  in life we discover our true strength only in times when being strong is the  only
choice we have left.

Face  your fears, face your obstacles for they are there to serve you to make you  stronger.
In the end, be thankful for them and hope for bigger challenges because  that
means you are great enough to face them. 

I know  of no other way that leads to self discovery other than crossing my personal  lines
and limits to discover where they are.


 

It seems to me that there is only one time a year where almost everyone will commit to "change."  It comes in the form of a New Year's Resolution.  The problem is this:  the resolution becomes nothing more than a great idea for the holidays with no comittment and no attachment.  There are no sustainable habits which are created to maintain the motivation needed to support long lasting change.
Was 2012 all you hoped it would be?  Did you achieve everything you set out to do last New Year?  Are you serving your life sentence? My guess would be that for most of you...maybe a little...and others...not so much.  So, what is the solution?  I won't give it all away just yet, however, I will give you a "teaser."
First things first...it all starts with YOU!  You need to be present and ready to change.  Are you present? 
The second thing is to figure out what it is you are passionate about?  By passionate...I mean what do you LOVE!?  Not like...LOVE! 
When you've figured that out, the third thing is to make the connection to WHY?  If you have a compelling reason why that truly means something to you...then the fourth step is easy.  Ready for it?  The fourth step is to get up off your ass and do something about it!  Yup, that's right...I said it...get up off that kiester take action! 
Now, there is a lot more to this than just turning a great idea into a single action.  It's about turning those actions into permanent habits and actions that consistently keep you moving forward. 
We're not getting any younger...the days aren't getting any longer.  You are blessed to be given each day to use for it as you wish.  The actions that you are taking should be dictated...not by the present...but rather by a vision of something greater that supports YOUR higher purpose.  Acknowledge it.  Believe it.  Know it.  Will it.  In the end...proudly be able to say...I AM...and USE IT!  Bring on 2013!