Topic > Conceiving Success from Life's Difficulties

Ernest Hemingway famously said, "The world breaks everyone, and then some are strong in the broken places." To me, this means that everyone goes through obstacles that lead to future success. Everything we go through can be instructive on how to deal with upcoming situations. Earth can be a fiery battleground that doesn't want anyone to succeed, and at times, it even seems like it exists. To survive, you need to learn specific skills to overcome these adversities. When looking at the repercussions of hardship, it is evident that it affects all people mentally, emotionally and physically; therefore, it is important that they are seen as learning opportunities, rather than obstacles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Being physically disabled is not an easy problem to deal with. For example, a year ago I had a physical problem playing lacrosse. While practicing my shots after school, I charged down the course, but suddenly found myself one foot deeper than the other in a hole. What followed was a very painful crack that felt like cracking all my knuckles at once. In that split second, I was immediately filled with worry about my foot, as well as my athletic career. With a broken foot, I soon discovered that the simplest tasks in life could be repugnant. It was difficult to adapt my life in ways I had always taken for granted. Going up and down a flight of stairs took me two minutes instead of ten seconds. Setbacks aren't easy, even for the diligent. It takes time and strength to overcome any type of adversity. Not only was I physically affected, but the situation bifurcated into my mental health. Weeks after the injury, my muscles began to deteriorate. The surgery took its toll, but too many carbs and countless episodes of My Name is Earl probably didn't help either. However, muscle atrophy played a major role in corrupting my body into a stagnant, limp mess. Before I got back on my feet, I had a lot of time to sulk about my health and feel sorry for myself. I was used to going out and practicing advanced lacrosse mechanics every morning and was in the best shape of my life. Then everything stopped. I lost muscle, gained fat, and at the end of the day, I didn't feel happy. Thankfully, I realized that what seemed like an irreparable event was nothing more than a bump in the road. Being the person I am, I was motivated to drive fifty miles per hour over that bump. I knew that once I got through this, I would become stronger as a person (human being slightly less impactful) for what I had overcome. Dealing with the foot injury helped me overcome several challenges that arose thereafter. While rehabbing my foot, I knew I couldn't train cardiovascularly. However, that didn't stop me. On the field I worked on lacrosse fundamentals. I did everything I could while I was down, like playing wall ball every day and working on my shooting accuracy. Overall, this has made me a better lacrosse player than I was before my injury. My hard work and good ethics didn't go unnoticed either. On the first day of lacrosse practices this year, my coaches were impressed with how in season I was. Everyone was aware of the work I was doing and this encouraged my teammates to work harder too. In some ways, I think the outcome of my injury motivated me.