My neighbor, who just returned from Paris, laughed with us about how every frequent traveler knows to expect “the travel test.” He said his family has learned that every trip will involve at least one difficult situation to test their character.
It’s not a surprise. They expect it. And ever since that conversation, I expect difficulty with a sort of joy knowing it’s a test to build character. The mindset shift to anticipate the test has even changed my definition of difficulty. Is a delayed flight enough of a test? Is a headache or an inconvenience enough? I’ve learned to raise my standards for what counts as my travel test.
Now, nothing seems quite as hard when you see a coming difficulty as a way to grow character.