It maybe a bit controversial for me to share these sentiments. I think that sometimes it is worthwhile to be bold and try to say difficult things. So, with trepidation, I say that our attitude transmutes suffering to growth. No matter what we are suffering from, our attitude toward that suffering matters more than any of its misery. From the depths of it, we often find the seeds of wisdom. Such wisdom acknowledges our power to define the meaning in our lives, even in the face of uncontrollable adversity.
The key lies in our response to what happens. I have been influenced to believe this by very smart people like Viktor Frankl, who wrote “Man’s Search for Meaning,” and others. He had the authority to make such a point boldly, having lived (barely lived) through the hell of a NAZI concentration camp. Even in that situation, he emphasized the importance of choosing our orientation toward suffering. In a good faith effort to acknowledge and show empathy for the unfair difficulties faced by other people, we sometimes avoid this helpful truth, but I think that is a mistake.
It is clear that we have a a freedom of choice that no circumstance, no matter how horrible, can take away. When we find ourselves succumbing to a bad mood or a cynical perspective, it is essential to remember that our attitude is not imposed by the circumstances. We always have the power over our own attitude. This freedom is our untouchable power and it’s realization helps us find a better way to engage with life, no matter what life throws at us.
In times of hardship and strife, it’s easy to justify a completely valid sense of victimhood by pointing to legitimate injustices. That offers no real solace or resolution, though. Instead, it sows seeds of resentment, traps us in a cycle of negativity, and obscures the opportunity for growth and understanding.
Many might bristle at the suggestion of adopting a better attitude while suffering under unjust circumstances. Encouraging rumination and increasingly potent negative characterizations of the problem seldom leads to improvement, though. That’s easy to talk about hypothetically and it is easier to say for privileged people. (I know, me included.) I do not mean to deny the horrors that can come in individual people’s lives and the horrors that can be brought upon entire groups of people. Exercising this power of attitude to transmute suffering to growth though, is nonetheless the only way to take control that cannot be vetoed by anyone.
Facing unavoidable suffering with responsibility and dignity could be more beneficial than relentlessly seeking immediate relief. While it is essential to alleviate and avoid pain in all its forms when possible, it isn’t the most crucial consideration in our lives. We do not possess the ability to avoid or alleviate all suffering. Instead, our freedom lies in choosing how we respond to these conditions.
In the face of tragedy, optimism becomes a difficult choice to consciously make. But, it is an opportunity to transform suffering into a human achievement, a testament to our spirit’s resilience. Even amidst suffering, we can sometimes find ways to turn negatives into positives in unexpected ways. Like Napoleon Hill essentially wrote about, in so many words, anyway, there is so much power in transmuting adversity into an asset. We have to choose an optimistic attitude to be open to seeing how to do that.