January 30, 2023

“Even the accomplished suffer setbacks sometimes. The more bitter the lessons, the greater the success will be.” - Lucio Tan

Give yourself grace if you have faced challenges and may have fallen off the path. For those of us that are religious, we know God gives us grace; it’s time to give yourself some as well. Know that whatever setbacks you have faced, most faiths believe that this setback is being put there for a reason. A higher power is trying to strengthen us to see even great success in the future. In the powerful words of Kelly Clarkson, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” Below is a short parable about the power of facing challenges and setbacks head-on. We can make these setbacks a permanent fixture in our life, or they can be a small blip on our road to success. “One day a small gap appeared in the cocoon, through which the butterfly had to appear. A boy, who accidentally passed by, stopped and watched how the butterfly was trying to get out of the cocoon. It took a lot of time, the butterfly was trying very hard, and the gap was as little as before. It seemed that the power would leave the butterfly soon. The boy decided to help the butterfly. He took a penknife and cut the cocoon. The butterfly immediately got out, but its body was weak and feeble, and the wings were barely moving. The boy continued to watch the butterfly, thinking that now its wings would spread and it would fly. However, that did not happen. For the rest of its life, the butterfly had to drag its weak body and wings that weren’t spread. It was unable to fly because the boy did not realize that an effort to enter through the narrow gap of the cocoon was necessary for the butterfly, so that the life-giving fluid would move from the body to the butterfly’s wings and that the butterfly could fly. Life forced the butterfly to leave its shell hardly so that it would become stronger and would be able to grow and develop. If we were allowed to live without meeting difficulties, we would not be viable. Life gives us challenges to make us stronger."