A Radical Argument

The Rebelution makes what sounds like a radical argument. It’s not just saying that hard things happen and that you can benefit from them. It’s not even just saying that you have the ability to do hard things. It’s telling you that you should do hard things because it’s the best and only way to experience true growth in your life.

Can you think of any period of growth in your life (… student, athlete, musician, etc…) that didn’t involve effort and even some level of discomfort? The truth is that all growth involves discomfort. Think of growing pains.

These are not a new ideas. We don’t want to reinvent truth. But we do want our generation to rediscover what has always been true — and one thing that has always been true is that in order to grow we must do hard things. We must challenge and stretch ourselves, step outside our comfort zones and do something difficult. It’s how we’ve grown before, and it’s the only way we’ll grow for the rest of our lives.

(From Alex & Brett Harris blog and website: http://www.therebelution.com)

Yes, this is a piece of a blog from a Christian teen site, but I would argue that it could and should apply to almost anyone and everyone, regardless of age or religious affiliation. Just about everyone I know is addicted to fun. We have low expectations of ourselves. We don’t want to do anything that might require actual work or difficulty. We want it all to come easily, and allow us adequate time for fun and games. When does that prepare us to actually do something with our lives? Most of us didn’t go to college in order to prepare us for responsibility, we went to college to give us four more years to avoid responsibility.  Trust me, I’m the biggest offender of this trend. I’m not making any holier-than-thou judgments, I’m pointing a finger straight at myself, and somewhat pointedly at one or two other people I know. Let’s get off our butts and do something!!! And, for those of you to whom this argument does not apply, I applaud you! Now challenge the person to your left or your right to whom it does apply.