Challenges do more than test us. They polish, deepen, and reveal the hidden strength within us, often in ways we do not recognize until later. As the old Chinese proverb reminds us, “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.”

You have to meet all of the challenges, big and small. Because how you start is how you finish. ~ Bernie Mac

Everyone gets their rough day. No one gets a free ride. Today, so far, I had a good day. I got a dial tone. ~ Rodney Dangerfield

The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done. ~ Arnold Palmer

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. ~ Taylor Benson

A rattlesnake that doesn't bite teaches you nothing. ~ Jessamyn West

We succeed in enterprises that demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those that can also make use of our defects. ~ Alexis de Tocqueville

Storms make the oak grow deeper roots. ~ George Herbert

If there were no tribulation, there would be no rest; if there were no winter, there would be no summer. ~ St. John Chrysostom

Our way is not soft grass. It's a mountain path with lots of rocks. But it goes upward, forward, toward the sun. ~ Ruth Westheimer

There is something in us which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it... What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. ~ George Leigh Mallory

Above all, challenge yourself. You may well surprise yourself at what strengths you have, what you can accomplish. ~ Cecile M. Springer

If you're going through hell, keep going. ~ Winston Churchill

I have always had the ability to attach my demons to my chariot. ~ Ingmar Bergman