What Expands Us Makes Us Stronger: Year-End Wisdom on Embracing Problems, People, and Passions for True Resilience

As 2025 draws to a close on December 28, Shelja Sen, a renowned therapist, offers a timely soul-searching reflection in her latest column. Through weekly notes from client sessions, travels, books, and everyday encounters, she distills collective wisdom into actionable principles for personal growth. This piece resonates deeply in an era of uncertainty, where unemployment, polarization, and curated lives via apps and AI often shield us from reality. Sen challenges the myth of constant happiness, advocating instead for dancing with discomfort to foster genuine resilience.

 

Her narrative weaves powerful stories that illuminate human struggles and triumphs. In one session, young Zahira bounces back from a lost scholarship by cultivating a "taste for problems," contrasting sharply with Rohan, an Ivy League graduate battling joblessness and depression. Neena's family session uncovers generational healing, as her mother invokes the timeless line from Amar Prem: "Kuchh to log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna." These anecdotes underscore that avoiding messiness only prolongs suffering, while facing it head-on sparks growth.

 

Key Wisdom Highlights

 

Developing Resilience Through Adversity

Zahira's mantra—"Life is messy, so develop a taste for problems"—shifts focus from curated perfection to proactive problem-solving, countering societal pressures for endless happiness.

 

Accepting Human Nature Without Resentment

"People will continue peopling" emerges from Neena's family, reminding us that holding grudges burns us most, as echoed in songs and modern dialogues like Materialists.

 

Pursuing Passion for Authentic Strength

Rohan's pivot from elite education to Himalayan treks proves "what expands us makes us stronger," prioritizing excitement over expectations for renewed purpose.

 

Sen concludes with hope: as we enter 2026, embrace problems, people's quirks, and energizing pursuits, for true strength blooms in spaces of expansion. This editorial wisdom invites readers to reflect, select what resonates, and share forward.

 

Sources: The Indian Express