Upside-Down Wisdom #36: Life Is a Struggle

“Life is a struggle.”

“Life is a struggle.”

It feels true.
Everyone says it.
Life is hard.
You’ve got to fight for what you want.
Push through the obstacles.
Carry the weight.
Endure the pain.

And sure, sometimes it really feels that way.
Like you’re trudging uphill in mud with no end in sight.
Like life itself is against you.

But here’s the thing:

That’s upside-down.

Because struggle isn’t built into life.
It’s built into thought.

Life is just what’s happening.
Events. Circumstances. Moments flowing one after another.
The feeling of struggle comes when thought paints those moments as too much, too heavy, too unfair.

That’s why some people experience the same situation as adventure, while others experience it as torment.
The difference isn’t life.
It’s the lens.

When that lens clears, the mud turns back into ground.
The climb turns back into walking.
Life goes on being life—without the overlay of struggle.

Here’s today’s Upside-Down Wisdom:
Struggle isn’t in life. It’s in the story you’re telling yourself about it.

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This is Upside-Down Wisdom—a series where we flip the script on the conventional "wisdom" we've been taught. If you would like to read other posts in this series, please visit the Upside-Down Wisdom page.