Why Problems Make Life Meaningful

A life with no problems is no life at all.

From Unsplash by frank mckenna

Suppose you're telling your life story to a stranger.

You start preaching that you lived a flawless life, a life in which everything was sorted for you, a life without a hitch.

Wouldn't that story be boring to him/her?

Chances are you'll start doubting your own existence.

“Did I live an exciting life?”

“Did I have fun with it?”

“Did I contribute to society in some way?”

Take a deep breath.

This is just imagination.

But are you someone who complains about your problems, blames your luck or compares your problems to others?

Just to create more emotional suffering for yourself?

This is human nature and you don't have to feel bad about it.

A life with no problems is no life at all. Live with the problems, work successfully through the problems, and enjoy a rich and fulfilling life.

— Ralph Marston

At the end of this article, you'll probably say - “thankfully, life is full of problems ”

But to reach there, we first have to get clear on one thing…

Why Problems Are Unavoidable

What do you think, do things can be certain?

Will everything go according to your plans?

Life is complex and we simply cannot understand what will lead to which consequences.

Problems are a natural part of human experience. They are unpredictable.

I was doing well in school and was about to give the final exams of school.

On the 23rd of December, I was studying for my practice exams, sitting on the bed, I stood up to stretch and I suddenly fell.

I stood up and tried walking, I noticed my left leg was dragging with the floor.

It wasn't working. Fear stricken, I lied down on the bed, screamed at my sister to call mom, I noticed another thing.

My left arm wasn't working as well.

I had lost control of my left limbs. But, what was it? I had a stroke.

This stroke occurred due to a disease I had from birth. We had no idea it'd lead to such a devastating event.

I now have a problem I never thought of dealing with.

This is the law of problems, whether small or big they'll keep appearing without any permission.

So it makes sense to not try to run away from problems, rather embrace them.

Why embrace problems?

The short answer is you can't grow without them.

But to convince yourself better you should be aware of the utility of problems and why they are necessary to become your best version.

How Problems Help Us Grow

Do you like to learn?

I'm sure you do as you're reading this.

We learn mostly because we want to solve our problems and then strive for a little better ones.

This learning process helps us better understand ourselves.

We discover ourselves better as we're constantly testing what works for us and what does not.

This again leads to learning more, knowing what we're capable of handling and where we're not good at, creating a virtuous cycle.

Learning helps us to overcome challenges and this gives us a sense of accomplishment and progress.

We start feeling good about ourselves and this gives meaning to our existence.

This meaning motivates us to strive for our goals and maybe even contribute to society, giving us a sense of purpose.

All of this is possible because you had problems in the first place.

My stroke made me aware of hardships many people have to go through.

It led me to know my potential of bouncing back.

Life can throw more problems at me, but now I have accepted that as the companion of existence.

Final Thoughts

I wrote this to make you embrace problems, not waste your time and energy on ruminating about them.

Your problems are the most fundamental evidence of your existence.

Accepting this fact liberates you.

Consider subscribing to the newsletter if you want to overcome your psychological barriers with self acceptance.

Wrapping up.