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Question: Some people believe that it is helpful to view a challenging situation as an opportunity for
personal growth. Others believe that reimagining challenging situations this way occupies
too much of the focus one needs to face challenges effectively.

WC: 545
Essay:

When faced with a challenging situation, people tend to balk. It is a stressful, frustrating, and sometimes even depressing, depending on the situation. Some, however, posits that people should reframe these situations in a positive light and use them as a way for personal growth. I agree that this can be beneficial and can help an individual deal with the situation.

For example, a historian might be faced with the problem of difficulty in accessing sources. This problem is especially true for historians that work in the history of countries that monitor the telling of their history and keep their archives closed off, such as Turkey. Historians trying to research the Armenian Massacre face the problem of vital sources not being accessible to them, since the Turkish government keeps them closed off and is, to say the least, not encouraging of this research. However, that historian can then view that situation, while frustrating, as one to further their ingenuity in using sources. They can turn to personal stories, to oral histories, or perhaps to records written down by those that left Turkey. Despite the inability to access the Turkish government's records, the historian can still turn out an effective piece of research and will gain growth in their own research methods.

While that example dealt with growth in terms of skills, people can also experience growth emotionally. A teenager or young twenty-somethings first breakup might feel like the end of the world to them. While their emotional distress should not be dismissed, this can also be an opportunity for growth. Once a person has gone through that first breakup, they can choose to come out of it with a better sense of relationships and how to navigate them. This breakup can make them better prepared for the next relationship. They can also use this post-breakup period to focus on themselves and their personage.

That being said, sometimes there are situations where trying to reframe the situation as a positive opportunity for personal growth may do more harm than good. If someone is working at a job where their boss is abusive and workplace toxic, then the best thing for them would be to remove themselves from that situation. They should not think they need to stick it out and that sticking it out will bring them growth. However, quitting is a way of dealing with the situation and will likely bring positive growth because the individual will learn how to be confident and stick up for themselves. So while one may easily fall into a trap of sticking with a insufferable situation because they think it will bring them growth, then real personal growth is gained by removing themselves from that situation.

In conclusion, viewing a challenging situation as a way to increase personal growth can be advantageous for an individual. It will likely help them in improving skills or dealing with a personal problem in a healthy manner. However, one should not let it trick them into confusing enduring a burdensome situation with stopping or remove themselves from the situation. That takes aplomb and shows real personal growth, to recognize a bad situation. One should take this advice of reimagining difficult situations, yet they should fully understand it on more than a superficial level.