A Spark by Innocent Mwatsikesimbe from The Vision, chapter 30

Innocent spent a long stretch trying to get out of a hard situation that life had imposed on him. When the chance to make things easier finally came up, he noticed something he hadn’t expected: how much the hardship had already given him. So he stayed on the hard road a little longer, on purpose.

Those circumstances had challenged, inspired and motivated him, and he came out with more than an easier run would have produced — skills, and the value of dedication, sacrifice, competing against himself, reinventing himself even when things are going well. That last habit is what keeps complacency off and leaves you ready for hardships you didn’t see coming: an “always ready” attitude.

The point isn’t to court suffering. It’s that an easy way within reach isn’t automatically the way to take — staying with the hard one can pay in “the lessons that challenges teach, and the skills they impart.”