No one likes to be miserable. Well, most people don't like it, anyway. Misery can make life unbearable. However, misery does serve a purpose. When you get through the misery and can take a step back from the situation, you will see that, through the misery, you have developed personal strength, increased your confidence and learned important life lessons. Although not something to seek out, misery well spent can be a valuable life lesson that can assist in making the rest of your life better.

I am not suggesting that you go out and seek misery so you can learn and grow from it. The truth is that there's no need to invite misery. Misery will find you. It is simply part of life. It might not be a fun part of the whole but, when used to learn and grow, misery is one of life's best teachers. As humans we don't tend to learn much or even take much action when life is going merrily along. In fact, we tend to get into a rut when coasting along. Misery shakes things up and turns life upside down. Misery will force you out of your comfort zone and challenge you to stretch and grow.

Although unpleasant when you are going through a miserable period, when looking back over the most miserable times of your life, you can often see the value that these experiences provided to you. When you realize that you are the person you are today because of the misery you went through, you will see that it was misery well spent.

When you are in the middle of a miserable time, it is difficult to say, "Oh, yea! I am learning some great life lessons!" However, life proves that few experiences will kill you and even if it feels like you won't survive, there is a good chance you will. When you get to the other side of misery, you will see that the misery was simply a stepping-stone in the river of life. If you are willing to endure and grow through it, you will get to the other side better and wiser for the experience.