Is it true that we don't really know ourselves until we confront one insurmountable obstacle in our lives?

Answer 1

Yes I believe so during my 43 years on this earth I have face many of them

Answer 2

I think the media does portray everything as a struggle and a competition and there can only be one winner (Survivor, Amazing Race and any other reality show that votes people off). And instead of viewing competition from others as a good thing, people have started to view competition as something that you need to get rid of, so that you can be the winner. Unfortunately, I think this mindset has taken hold of women more than men, but I don't think it's exclusive to men. My two best friends in grad school were my two biggest competitors. We fought and we came together and in the end we all graduated and got good jobs and did very well for ourselves and more importantly, we remained friends! I think my biggest obstacle now is finding the right balance between me as a professional and me as a woman. I'm not married, but we are talking about it, so I am beginning to think in terms of "us" rather than just "me". It is sometimes very difficult and I have been struggling with what is best for "me" as opposed to what is best for "us" because it isn't always the same thing! It gets even harder when I feel that he isn't as concerned about "us" as I am, and then I start thinking that maybe I am giving up to much of myself to him and this idea of "us". UGH!!!!

Answer 3

Perhaps. Though only to a point.

I finally knew who I was when I left it all behind for a while, and spent a great deal of time pretty much alone in a foreign country.

When I left my abusive first husband, I litterally left. I went to the United States for six months and stayed with friends. One, in particular, I'm still close to and probably will always remain so even though we don't talk much anymore. We'll always be friends.

Never before had I actually taken the time to sit by myself out in beautiful nature just to think. Or even just to sit peacefully without a thought in my head.

I thought about everything. About my relationships with everyone I knew. About where my career was going. About who I was without my husband to hold me back. About where I was going in my life and what I wanted to do.

And sometimes, I didn't think at all. I didn't even read. Just sat quietly and enjoyed the silent beautiful moment. The sound of the crickets and the wind in the trees at night. The heat of the sun during the day. The sound of the water in the brook travelling nearby. I used to wander the Ohio hills.

And I loved it.

My family still thinks it was a terrible idea for me to leave as I did. But I don't think it was. I came to know myself, and be more at peace with my life than I ever had been. It was like waking up to the world around me.

And that sense of peace has never really left. In fact, its only heightened after my car accident.

And not a bit of it had to do with any god. It just had to do with coming to accept me for me without anyones interference.

Answer 4

I think for many people that's the case. But, there's usually two ways to go when at the obstacle: you become humble and more human, or you become more entwined in your big story.

Take for example people who get divorced. Some people are hurt, but they're able to take it as a humbling occurence, and somehow these people become kinder, gentler. On the other hand, some people take this as the big event which absolutely destroyed their whole life, and become miserable and full of hate and self-pity.

Answer 5

Yes for me it was the catalyst for the greatest spiritual leap of my life, loosing my son, family and country in one afternoon changed my whole life. I now stand in my own power and create my own reality as a Priest of the Ancient British Goddess. Yes my friend those apparent insurmountable objects are designed to help us evolve.

Answer 6

I believe that is true.... part of growing as a person is to realise our flaws, our good points and what we can do to be a better, stronger individual. The flaw is usually the obstacle, or it could be a demon that we need to get beyond to truely move on from the past.

Answer 7

Not just one and it doesnt have to be insurmountable. We are born with a blank slate and learn by trial and error; our lives are a processs of learning and reconfiguring our image of the world. So it is not really we dont know ourselves, but realizing what affects us and change ourselves to conform to it.

Answer 8

Yes it is...

It's the big obstacles that help us to understand who we really are on a deeper level & to be able to tap into a strength we never knew we had..

The real test is 'the dark night of the soul' but it is what will set you free.

Answer 9

Well, in crisis the real you comes out.

You never know what you're capable of until something extreme occurs. It's kind of like the fight or flight thing and the adrenaline that can kick in and make mothers lift an SUV off her child sort of thing.

Answer 10

Absolutely yes, beyond word of a doubt. A crisis will draw on every ability you have to overcome it, recover from it or live with it.