“A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.”

We all deal with adversity at one point or another in our lives. After all, nothing is ever perfect. Difficult times come, and we’re forced to deal with them – but these moments are absolutely invaluable, and even if you can’t see it right away, there’s always something that situation will teach you.

It might take an hour, a day, a month… you might have to deal with the difficult situation for a long time before anything comes to an end and you’re able to pull any sort of lesson out of it.

But it’s the hard times that make us stronger, smarter, tougher, more generous, kinder, loving…. in other words, better. Because as the quote I began this post with says: a smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.

If you learn to sail, sure – you do it on calm waters. Start off slow, learn as you go, and eventually… you’re able to navigate. But the true test of a sailor comes when the winds are blowing, there’s a storm coming, and the waters are choppy. When everything seems like it’s an inch away from turning completely upside down and hurtling you into the darkness of the water surrounding you…. that’s when the true test comes.

All you have to do is navigate that storm, whether it’s literally a storm or something else: a breakup, a broken-down car, job loss, disappointment. Navigate that storm, and you’ll walk away with some skills that will be useful in your future. Don’t give up, keep going, deal with the difficult or adversity. You’ll be a better person because of it. Maybe not right now, but someday, you’ll look back on these times and smile because you did it. You navigated those choppy waters, got through the storm, and now you’re a skillful sailor that can handle anything that comes your way.