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Writer's pictureAllan Whidden

Why do we struggle?

Why do we struggle


This question or one similar to it is a question you most likely have raised. It is a good one as it can lead us to some answers essential to personal progress.

One answer might be; well it is one of my weaknesses or shortcomings. Admittedly we all lack particular skills, abilities or aptitudes and so some tasks are inevitably going to be more challenging. In spite of this, there are occasions where the particular task or endeavor proves to still be needful for us, or worthy of whatever effort may be required to achieve it. The key remedy is practice. Along with this persistence is required and perseverance. The 3 ‘P’s essential to getting better at anything. It is a matter of deciding if the task is worthy of our effort and committing to the process required to achieve it.

The second reason for struggles is lack of knowledge. Ignorance is a handicapping characteristic we all experience. The adage ‘knowledge is power’ is one of those self-evident truths. The remedy for ignorance is study and the capacity to learn from past mistakes.

The third reason is pride, an over reliance or unrealistic or inflated sense of one’s own capacities. This is about control. There are a limited number of things we have control over, the rest we have very little or absolutely no control. Knowing the difference is essential to productive engagement.

The fourth reason is moral or cognitive dissonance. In spiritual terms this is disobedience. Whenever we intentionally act contrary to our stated beliefs or values we create psychological stress.

The fifth reason is a function of lack of effort, attention or time. The law of the harvest applies here. We reap what we sew and if we fail to put forward the effort necessary to achieve worthwhile ends we will reap the consequences.

The sixth reason is clouded thinking. The inability to see clearly because of biases, prejudices, misconceptions, and distortions. This is not ignorance, but rather a lack of sufficient effort to employ reason and logic to see the error in their thinking.


This website was constructed to address each of these factors. We need not struggle as much as we do as we begin to understand why we are struggling. This in turn gives reason for optimism and hope for a brighter day. The Self Helps section is intended to help overcome dis-functional, or self defeating, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours and consequently has a remedial focus. The second purpose is to prescribe principles to move forward on a path of wellbeing. Hence it includes more proactive, protective and preventive measures.

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