Hardship Develops Into Growth

Toxic positivity often frames one’s hardships as just thinking negatively and not having the right mindset. That’s often what people fear they will be encouraged to do when they come to therapy, and so they avoid it, because that point of view shames and blames a person for those terrible feelings. What therapy actually does is honor the meaning of one’s experiences, even the hard ones. Take what is said here by Dave Dravecky: "I've come to realize that real growth of character takes place in the valleys of life." In therapy, we seek that kind of perspective. Instead of just viewing the worst moments we’ve been through as something that haunts us, we fill out a fuller picture of what took place. While we were hurt, we often also grew. That’s not to say that one needs to have pain in order to develop as a person, but more so that life will give everyone moments of adversity, and there is value we all gain from those moments. We aren’t just a victim of misfortune, but we are capable of overcoming challenges, and the inner changes we experience as a result form us into the people we are today.

"I've come to realize that real growth of character takes place in the valleys of life."

~ Dave Dravecky