Jonathan Haidt writes about the importance of overcoming adversity and enduring struggle in the book "The Happiness Hypothesis". The chapter "The Uses of Adversity" discusses why going through hardships are vital to becoming strong and confident when future struggles occur. Struggles can be difficult and feel heavy in our life, but they help us to overcome obstacles.
Religions such as Christianity teach that struggles are beneficial for one's faith and relationship with God. The Bible says in Romans 5:3-4 that "Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope" which reveals the religious value for suffering. When someone goes through a traumatic experience or just an ordinary hardship they have the potential to grow into a stronger person. Thus able to face adversity with a confidence that they can overcome anything that life may throw at them.
The most common misconception people have about their abilities is that we can't get through something. It is discussed in the text that people might say "I could never survive what Y is going through" which shows how people underestimate their capabilities. The biggest thing a person can learn from a bad experience is that they are much stronger than they realized" which gives them the "confidence to face future challenges". Haidt teaches that struggles are unavoidable so when we do experience them we should learn from them which lets us become stronger as people.
Haidt's chapter on adversity has similar ideas to Nietzsche. According to Nietzsche, negative experiences and emotions are like manure to a field, it fertilizes. Nietzsche believed that adversity made someone stronger and made their art better as well. Great musicians, writers, artists, songwriters have all gone through adversity and have expressed those negative emotions through art that people connect to. Expressing those negative experiences and emotions through types of art is cathartic.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate Haidt's outlook on living a happier life in this instance. He allows us to look at all the negative aspects in our lives and attribute them to our further growth and development of character. This is a great view to have in order to live happier every day. I know that the hardships I have endured in the past have allowed me to become more empowered and sure of who I am and who I want to be moving forward.
ReplyDeleteI have a bad habit of underestimating my own capabilities. Just recently, I put my all into an activity I love doing. Prior to participating, I always said to myself "I'm not good enough" or I'd just constantly tell myself I was incapable of being on a certain skill level as Y. However, I was a success in the activity I participated in, which by the way was very difficult! I believe part of that was based on the support system I had. Although their encouraging words went in one ear and out the other, I still hung on to the slim chance that I could beat the odds and come out successful! Realizing that I was good enough all along gives me the confidence in believing that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. I cling on to Haidt's words that we should learn from the struggles we encounter for they can make us stronger. Achieving this activity was quite challenging, but with determination, I now know I can make it through anything!
ReplyDeleteThis has helped me a lot reading this because of finals week. This whole week I have been burdened and felt like I could not push through. However after reading this and I have realized that even if I do fail I can still see how tough I was going through it and finishing what I started. Thank you for posting this it really helped me a lot.
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