The story of becoming the hammer and 'steel' of life: Why is struggle a kind of achievement?
Date: February 16, 2026 Sitting by the window of the bus, watching the rushing city outside, sometimes I realise strange truths. On a busy day like this, while stuck in traffic, a thought crossed my mind. What actually is this "struggle" that we fear all our lives and see as a curse? It struck me that all these struggles in life are actually a kind of privilege. It might sound strange, but if you think a little deeper, it makes perfect sense. Think about a piece of raw iron. When it first comes out of the mine, it is brittle and full of impurities. What do you need to turn this ordinary iron into strong steel? You need the intense heat of fire and the hard blows of a hammer. Life is that workshop, and our bad times or tough situations are that heavy hammer. When life’s problems hit us like a hammer, two things happen: We become stronger: Just as every blow of the hammer packs the iron particles tighter to make it solid, every crisis in life increases our mental strength. We ...