When you listen to this story, see if you can apply not just to your life, but also to those who you love.

Sometimes you have the best intentions to help others through trying to eliminate their struggles when really all they need is to know that they can handle it on their own.

The story goes like this.

There once was a man who came across a butterfly cocoon curious to see the butterfly emerged.

The man sat and watched for many hours as the butterfly struggled to force its body through a small hole, then nothing.

The butterfly appeared to stop making any progress.

It seemed to the man that the butterfly had gone as long and as far as it could and can struggle no more.

So with the best intentions, the man decided he had to help the butterfly.

He grabbed a pair of scissors and cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon with the cocoon cut open.

The butterfly no longer had to struggle and emerged easily.

However, as it emerged, the man noticed it had a swollen body and small shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch, expecting the butterfly to grow its wings and fly away.

However, this did not happen.

The butterfly spent the rest of it's very short life crawling around the ground with a swollen body and small wings unable to fly.

Although the man had the best intentions.

What he failed to understand was that the cocoons job is to provide the struggle and resistance.

The butterfly needs to grow.

The restriction from the tiny opening of the cocoon is exactly what it needed because it forces fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings which enables the wings to grow and prepare it for freedom.

Once it earns its way out of the cocoon, there's a powerful life lesson.

Here are struggles always give us strength.

Sometimes the struggles we go through our exactly what we need to grow and develop.

Although it is never fun in the moment, we can always look back on difficult moments as crucial times that changed us for the better.

In some way we all face struggle and sometimes we watch those.

We love struggle as well and although we don't wish upon anyone hard times, we all need them for growth and for strength.

Trying to avoid struggle.

Taking the easy path will only lead to a harder life to greater struggles later on cursing the world and blaming struggles and circumstances for where you are will never help either.

You must face your struggles and learn from them.

Use the hard times of your past to your advantage.

You must face your struggles and believe you have the strength to overcome them.

If you can do that, you will overcome them.

There's no shame in struggle.

We all face our own battles in life.

They are part of our journey, part of our story, pieces of our post.

Next time you were going through a challenge or a struggle, remind yourself This struggle is strengthening me.

Mhm.

This struggle is preparing me for something bigger and better.

This struggle was sent to make me stronger, wiser.

Better.

It was sent to give me strength so I can fly.

Mhm.