People whose families struggled financially while they were growing up, including myself, sometimes believe they got the short end of a stick. It can be difficult to remember other kids that got mountains of presents on birthdays or never worried about asking their parents for money.
When you’re a kid and everyone else has a shiny, new toy, it’s easy to feel left out.
However, there is a hidden blessing in my upbringing. That’s right, I said BLESSING.
The Hidden Blessing of Growing Up in a Struggle
If you’re willing to look past shiny bicycles and cool games, you can see that a poor childhood gave you other gifts. I was not a victim of my circumstance. Yes, I grew up poor but that is not the end of my story. I don’t want to complain about being financially unstable as a child. I want to share the hidden blessing that my early years were for my life. What I got was intangible. It can’t be wrapped with a big bow placed on top, yet it is priceless.
If I had gotten a new Barbie Jeep for Christmas as a kid, that plastic toy would be sitting in a landfill somewhere. Instead, I got a gift that I can keep forever.
Grit
Growing up poor is a struggle. When I think of struggle, I think of a rough and tumble.
That’s exactly what it was.
I don’t mean a physical fight. I mean a mental one. When you are raised in a struggle, there is a deep grit within you, a focus and a hunger that is developed on a survival level. That can’t be taught.
That grit can’t be replicated.
I had a childhood that taught me I needed to work hard to succeed. To break out of a poverty mindset, I had to have grit. Having this deep-seated toughness and spirit – some would say spunk! – has been a hidden blessing in my life. Long after childhood, grit is a trait that I can rely on.
You can buy fancy clothes and cars. But you cannot buy grit.
Opportunity
You may think that you missed out on the opportunities that other, wealthier kids received. People with money do have different opportunities.
That doesn’t feel fair.
Yet you have an advantage. I can hear you thinking, “Advantage?!”
The reality is that although they had different opportunities, so do you. You can create opportunities; this is a hidden blessing you might not have realized. You can create wealth. While it’s possible for you to make your own circumstances and become rich, you also have an urgent hunger that was instilled in you from the very beginning.
The struggle I grew up in gave me a fierce drive to create my own opportunities.
If you have an impoverished background, I want to empower you right now to look at your childhood from a different perspective. Instead of the material things you didn’t have, consider what you did have. Recognize the hidden blessing that a poor upbringing has given you. My childhood gave me an internal determination and drive to create my own fortune.
As a result of the struggle of my early years, I have grit and an ability to make my opportunities.
What are the intangible results of your struggle? Respond and share your hidden blessing!