Everyone experiences difficult times in life.  Often, when we go through these times, we feel hopeless for our situation in the moment. During the time of the stressful event or difficult time, we struggle to see the future and how most problems are temporary.  Examples of a tragic or stressful event can be the loss of a loved one, loss of independence, a big life change, a time of chaos in life. Really any event that causes one to question their own strength to get through the event can apply.  Difficult times are a part of life, but we learn from those events to better our lives.

Often in counseling, we ask clients to reflect on those hard times from their past.  We encourage clients to gain insight into those situations to be able to identify how they became stronger or what they learned from these events.  As stressful as times may be, we usually develop more resilience, coping skills, and confidence as we get through the situation.  When we overcome a difficult time, we are often surprised in ourselves by our own strength.  That strength comes from within.

Strengths learned from past situations can be used to help us get through current situations.  We become more resilient as we go through hard times.  Our past strengthens us to better handle the future.  For example, when a person loses a loved one, they grieve.  As they grieve, they learn how their minds process the loss.  They learn how much they cry or hold things together for others.  They learn what it takes for them to feel closure and acceptance for the loss.  People may say, “I lived through this event, I can handle anything.”  Every loss is different, but every loss can teach us something about ourselves.

In counseling, we often try to help people identify their strengths.  We like people to develop insight about their past difficulties and how those difficulties shape them into who they are in the present.  We then use those tools to help people power through their current difficulties.  Most people are often stronger than they realize.  In a time when you feel weak, remember your internal strength.  We call this idea Strength’s Perspective.