Problems Equal Growth

” A problem is a chance for you to do your bes” Is what Duke Ellington, American jazz legend said. I agree with this statement, in fact I believe problems are the things that make us into the people we are meant to be. They offer opportunities that help us grow. A common phrase that I say is that “everything happens for a reason”. That could be a great thing like getting a new job that you’ve wanted for a really long time, or you get into an argument with a friend and you guys have a falling out. All of these moments in your life however big or small are opportunities that help you into become the person that you are meant to be.

Everyone comes across problems in their life, whether it be big or small, and that problem usually teaches you something whether you realize it or not. Last year I started having a problem with my friends that I’ve had for almost all my life. Plus these people were the only people I had ever really opened up to and they were kind of my support system. I considered these people to be my best friends, not that I felt all the close with them they were just the people that I was the closest with in my life. But as I grew as a person and I entered my junior year and was ready to take my life seriously and start thinking about my future, they were not thinking about the same things. They were not like those friends that encourage you to do bad things or anything they just didn’t really care about school all that much and they would skip school which got me in the habit of skipping school, cause weather you like to hear it or not you are the people you hang out with. That was a reality that I was slowly facing that year and I was also facing the reality that these people that I was surrounding myself with were not the type of people that I wanted to be like. This was a big problem for me because I had always pictured myself having these people in my life forever, but I knew what had to be done so I started to talk to them less and less until eventually we were not talking anymore. This problem of realizing these people were not my people anymore opened me up to the opportunity to grow and become the version of myself i was meant to be. In the couple of months after I stopped being friends with these girls I grew so much and started to focus on school again. This would have never happened if the problem of my friendships would have never arisen

A person that shows that problems can be turned into opportunity is Tom Brady. The Patriots had a problem, their starting quarter back was injured and now they have to put their back up QB who hasn’t ever had NFL game time before. Tom Brady was a guy that had lived the underdog story most of his life but his number one goal was to be a football star. He was a backup quarter for the Patriots in 2000, they were playing the lions when their Quarterback got injured. this was a big problem for the Patriots because now they needed to send in ruckie Tom Brady and hope he can play well and win the game. Tom Brady was determined and he said that once they put him in they will never take him off and that is exactly what happened. the Patriots had a problem, their QB 1 was injured, but this problem led to an amazing opportunity for Tom Brady and the patriots. Tom brady went on to be the best quarterback in NFL history winning 7 super bowls.

In conclusion, almost every problem that you face offers opportunities, you just have to choose to see it that way. Like how I choose to see myself losing my friends as an opportunity to grow into a better person. Or like Tom Brady that took the problem that his team had with losing their QB 1 and made it an opportunity to prove himself to his coaches and team. All problems have opportunities, whether you see it at first or not they are there.

“Flowers” by Barbara Walsh Photography is licensed under CC BY 2.0.