When the Best Thing Feels Like the Hardest Thing: Why Growth Comes With Struggle

There’s an old saying: “Be careful what you wish for—you just might get it.”

It sounds like a warning, but I think it’s really a truth about how life works.

I once saw a documentary about astronauts who spent years training for space travel. When they finally got to space—the moment they had been dreaming of their whole lives—the experience was so overwhelming that some of them struggled to cope. They had worked their entire lives for this, yet the reality of it hit them in ways they hadn’t expected.

It reminds me of a quote from The Dark Knight: “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Because sometimes, what we thought would be the greatest moment of our lives comes with a weight we never anticipated.

That’s the paradox of growth—the best things often feel like the hardest things.

We think that once we finally get the thing we’ve been waiting for—success, love, healing, purpose—it will feel effortless. But instead, it comes with resistance. Doubt. Growing pains.

And a lot of that resistance? It comes from our own psychological "wallet"—our internal sense of value, worth, and abundance.

1. Your Internal Economy Determines How You Handle Blessings

In finance, people talk about scarcity mindset vs. abundance mindset. If someone believes money is always scarce, they hoard it, fear spending it, and struggle to invest in their own future. But if someone has an abundance mindset, they see money as a tool, not a trap.

It’s the same with opportunities, relationships, and growth.

• If you secretly believe you’re not worthy of love, you might sabotage a good relationship when it finally comes.

• If you believe success is rare, you might shrink when a big opportunity lands in your lap.

• If you’re used to struggle, you might reject ease because it feels unfamiliar—even when you’ve earned it.

This is why receiving something great can feel just as terrifying as losing something—it forces you to confront your internal economy.

Do you believe you deserve this?Do you trust that you can handle it?Or are you still operating from a place of fear and survival?

2. If You’ve Been Living in Survival Mode, Growth Will Feel Uncomfortable

Think about someone who’s been poor their whole life and suddenly wins the lottery. Studies show that most lottery winners go broke within five years. Why? Because their internal economy never changed—only their external circumstances did.

The same thing happens with personal growth.

• If you’ve been emotionally starving, a healthy relationship will feel overwhelming.

• If you’ve been grinding in survival mode, financial stability will feel suspicious.

• If you’ve been fighting for recognition, getting it might make you feel like an imposter.

Because when you’ve been programmed for scarcity, abundance feels unnatural.

But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It just means you have to retrain your mindset to receive what’s meant for you.

3. Stop Clinging to the Version of You That Only Knew Struggle

One of the hardest parts of transformation is realizing you can’t take the old you into your new season.

If you’ve been broke, you can’t bring a scarcity mindset into financial freedom.If you’ve been wounded, you can’t bring self-sabotage into a healthy relationship.If you’ve been ignored, you can’t bring self-doubt into a position of leadership.

But a lot of us try.

We hold onto old fears because they feel safe. We cling to past struggles because they’re familiar. We romanticize “the grind” because we don’t know how to function without it.

But growth means letting go of the survival version of you and stepping into the thriving version of you.

4. Your Mind is Your Wallet—Invest Wisely

People obsess over how much money they have in their wallet. But the real question is: What’s in your mental wallet?

If you’re carrying self-doubt, you’ll bankrupt every opportunity.If you’re carrying fear, you’ll undervalue yourself in relationships.If you’re carrying guilt, you’ll reject happiness when it’s handed to you.

Just like with money, you have to invest in your mindset to grow.

• Learn to see yourself as worthy.

• Train yourself to accept abundance without guilt.

• Practice gratitude instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Because the truth is: Your mindset determines your capacity to hold blessings.

5. Trust That You Were Built for This

One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is: I’m not ready.

But here’s the truth: If something has arrived in your life, it’s because you were meant for it.

• You wouldn’t have been given that dream if you weren’t meant to build it.

• You wouldn’t have been given that love if you weren’t meant to receive it.

• You wouldn’t have been given this moment if you weren’t meant to step into it.

It may feel heavy, but that’s because it’s real. And real things have weight.

Trust that you were built to carry this.

Final Thoughts: Shift Your Internal Economy

The best things in life are rarely easy. They challenge us. They force us to grow. They make us confront who we are and who we believe ourselves to be.

So if something good feels uncomfortable, don’t run from it.If success feels strange, don’t reject it.If love feels overwhelming, don’t sabotage it.

Instead, expand your internal economy.

Believe that you deserve good things.Believe that you can handle responsibility.Believe that abundance isn’t something to fear—it’s something to steward.

Because in the end, the best things in life don’t just change our circumstances.

They change us.