challenges are opportunities

Quotes

From Nelson Mandela:

I never lose: I either win or learn.

From The Unicorn Project:

every incident is a learning opportunity, an unplanned investment that was made without our consent.

From Marcus Aurelius:

The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.

From When Things Fall Apart:

What we habitually regard as obstacles are not really our enemies, but rather our friends. What we call obstacles are really the way the world and our entire experience teach us where we’re stuck. What may appear to be an arrow or a sword we can actually experience as a flower. Whether we experience what happens to us as obstacle and enemy or as teacher and friend depends entirely on our perception of reality. It depends on our relationship with ourselves.

From The Greatest Salesman In the World:

Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. Yet each struggle, each defeat, sharpens your skills and strengths, your courage and your endurance, your ability and your confidence and thus each obstacle is a comrade-in-arms forcing you to become better … or quit. Each rebuff is an opportunity to move forward; turn away from them, avoid them, and you throw away your future.

From Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhan Hanh:

And so, the meditator goes together with the warrior. We should not be afraid of obstacles on our path. In fact, there are many things that can discourage you. But, if your energy of bodhicitta is strong, if your warrior is strong, you can overcome these obstacles, and every time you overcome them, your bodhicitta will get stronger. In this way, obstacles are not really obstacles. They are an accelerator of wisdom, of aspiration.

From Rilke (via John O’Donohue):

Difficulty is one of the greatest friends of the soul.

From Paul Valery:

A difficulty is a light. An insurmountable difficulty is a sun.