When I was young I was influenced by the work of Napoleon Hill and W. C. Stone. One of the sayings that really stuck with me from their work is, "Every adversity has the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit."
This doesn't mean that the benefit will naturally come to you, though. Revealing the benefit always takes work in terms of thoughts and effort. That effort is always better than sitting and feeling sorry for oneself or getting depressed. In fact, when I'm feeling down, making the effort to find that seed of an equivalent or greater benefit is often what lifts the depression from me.
We are currently in a time when there are many people who are anxious and concerned about the future. It's not clear what's going to happen next. Nor is it obvious how things will be when normality is restored.
Rather than being a time to consider only worst possible outcomes or doomsday scenarios, it's also a time to look for a brighter future. As Hill and Stone would remind us, a positive mental attitude often unlocks opportunities that seem impossible or otherwise hidden.
I recently really enjoyed Dirt to Soil, Gabe Brown's story of turning around his family farm. In the book he repeatedly says, "If you want to make small changes, change how you're acting; If you want to make big changes, change how you're seeing."
Today is a terrific opportunity to develop a magnificent obsession, opening our minds to see from new perspectives because therein lies the seed of a great benefit.
Photo by Pratik Gupta on Unsplash