Can Bad Be Good?

It is human nature to avoid pain, suffering, and negative experiences; we shoot for the best possible outcomes, and when hardships and trials come, many stumble, fall, or give in to life's persistent demands of sacrifice. But despite the initial pain that hardships bring, can negative experiences have a good influence on life? I think so.

In the Bible, James writes about suffering temptations and trials. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers," he says, "whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4) James states the fact that the temptations that entice us towards sin, and the trials that trip us during life, must take place so we can gain strength and wisdom to learn to overcome them. It is through this gradual process of construction of the mind that we can become mature, steadfast, and righteous. Through trials we learn hardships, so we learn endurance and perseverance, and so that we can gain the experiences of life. 


On a more secular note, negative experiences may also aid to our emotional growth. " Many young people experience the joys of infatuation ("puppy love"), the mixed feelings which music songwriters love to write about, that brings about pleasure to the senses. However, the couple in "love" will sooner or later end their relationship, and pain will set it. This process is at the time a negative experience, and some may not be able to stand the pressure, giving in to suicide or depression. The same thing applies to those who are truly fond of a specific person. However in one of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poems, he writes that it is "better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." He was right; after the natural grieving process, we are able to use the events for our benefit, as we gain experience, wisdom, and rational thinking. Infatuated teens will learn to steer clear of such irrational emotions; heartbroken men and women learn to move on. Though the processes may be painful, in the long run it aids to our wisdom and understanding of life.


In essence, negative experiences aid to one's wisdom and understanding, and encourages perseverance, endurance, and faith in religion. The processes are grueling and painful, and some succumb to the darkness. But the light at the end of the tunnel is that the experience is short lived and will pass, and that these experiences are for us to look back to, realize the mistakes or hardships that have occurred, and apply our newfound knowledge in our current life. I recognize that this may not apply to all negative experiences, but it is true for a number of them.