Struggle. Just the word invokes anxiety in many people. Most would run from the idea of struggle into the comforts of, well comfort. It is very simple to lay in bed and dream of great things. I am often, almost daily, tempted to just take a few more minutes of shuteye, but at that moment, the struggle, though minute in the grand scheme of things, becomes real.
And I love that struggle.
The struggle isn't to get out of bed, rather it is all the things that are represented by struggle. When life is easy, complacency sets in, and with that, improvement ceases. I am very happy with who I am, but I would not be very happy if this is all I was able to achieve, in any regard. I would look back and see a whole bunch of lost opportunity. No one ever looks back and wishes they had done less, but they might analyze why they did not do more, or at least not push further in a field.
Often, that lack of push comes from never having had to struggle. Once a person has really had to endure struggle, a drive is generated in them, and it is one that does not go away. It is almost a sickness, where one goes out chasing other things to struggle over in order to create that need to improve, to be better. I have taken on difficult hobbies and crafts just to see if I could do it. Last year, for the singular purpose of seeing if I could, I gutted and reno'd a travel trailer. I gave myself a deadline (a trip to Banff for my cousin's wedding) and had to make sure it was good to go for that trip. Every available minute was spent getting it just right for us, and it was not until I was able to plug in on the campground and have everything work that the sense of satisfaction arrived.
And then I needed a new struggle, cause that one was done.
This is how it goes for many people. They take on projects just to see if they can do it, or just to push themselves to improve in a new area. For some, bouncing from project to project and coming up with another one is a struggle in and of itself, and that is a great thing. Pushing the mind to be creative about what problem one wants to solve does wonders for keeping the brain in top form. For others however, they choose something more routine, like lifting weights or running. You can always lift more weights, so that task has within it no limit, but a personal best can always be established, just like you can always run a little further or a little faster. That moves people.
In a more broad view, the most successful people are often the ones who started out with very little. Their desire to get out of their situation pushed them, encouraging them to make short term sacrifices in pursuit of whatever grand goal they were chasing. This is highly evident in the tech world, with many of the big names starting out with businesses in a garage and then being told no numerous times. Some of this struggle comes from social situations, such as bullying. There is great power in thinking, “Some day, I'll show you”, and then doing everything possible to be in a position to say that.
But even when that urge comes externally, it is only there to fuel the driver inside, the one that wants the pain of going into the uncharted territory of self-discovery, only to reach a goal, feel that moment of accomplishment, that raw adrenaline rush, only to fall from that high even faster, and start seeking out the next one.