How to Overcome Difficulties… The Right Use of Hard times…

There is no better test of character than a man's treatment of difficulties. The coward shuns them; the lazy man tries to go around them; the idler dawdles in front of them, waiting like Micawber for something to turn up or some miracle to remove them ; the baby-man waits for some friend to lift him over them ; but the manly man surmounts them.

There are two important questions for young men : How are we to think about our difficulties? How are we to treat our difficulties?

1. How are we to think about the difficulties we meet in life?

This is a question of vast importance, for upon its correct solution depends largely our happiness and our success. We should never look upon difficulties as misfortunes. They are often, and when rightly used, always among our greatest blessings. Difficulties encountered start the mind to active enterprise, develop the inventive genius, spur us to exertion, summon our resources and exercise them for growth and enlargement.

Difficulties are to young people what the wind is to the young oak nature's method of causing us to lay hold more deeply on her strength and grow stronger fibre in our mental and moral being. Difficulties furnish us our grandest opportunities becoming, as they do, the great incentive and inspiration to our undeveloped forces.

They call forth our reserve power. They are Heaven ordained instrumentalities for awakening the slumbering powers within us to life and activity. A young man with many difficulties in his way ought to thank God and take courage. He should spell the word d-i-f-f-i- c-u-1-t-i-e-s, but should pronounce it opportunities.

2. How are we to treat our difficulties?

First, we must face them squarely. Many of life's difficulties are more imaginary than real. They dwindle to insignificance the moment we gaze resolutely upon them.

Study them as carefully as you would an opponent in battle whom you are determined to conquer. Learn all you can from friend and foe about the difficulties you are encountering. Remember you are born to conquer, and resolve to be a victor. Let there be no shunning, no whining, no waiting, no sickly, babyish dependence on others.

Your own right hand, your own strong heart, your own indomitable will these can give you the victory. Take your difficulties as the athletes take their hard and rigid training with a welcome; and remember each difficulty conquered means more manly strength.

Read the history of the world's greatest men and see how they conquered poverty, prejudice, and opposition; how they triumphed over bodily weakness ("out of weakness were made strong" through difficulties) ; how they overcame mental and moral deficiencies, and rose up giants from the contests and victors in the battle, and became men of whom the world was no* worthy, because they overcame difficulties. Conquer your difficulties and you have conquered the world.