Hasn't it always been pretty hard ?

“I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune. You have passed through life without an opponent —  no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you.”

 Seneca (4 B.C.E. — 65 C.E.)

In tech, a lot of people are talking about how hard things are now.  There has been a surge in articles urgently describing all the reasons that the “good times” are over. Some are helpfully offering frameworks for navigating the tough times ahead.  A few are saying “I told you so”.  This is not new; it has happened before and will happen again. However, to my ears the conversion this time seems heavily underpinned by the idea that somehow “easy” is a state that we need to be restored to as fast as possible - as if the presence of difficulties is a punishment or the result of an unnatural condition in the system that needs correction.  

Wishing for things to be easier doesn’t make a ton of sense.  I don’t think the universe ever really worked that way, at least not if you were engaged in anything worthwhile.  It has been said that ( in the face of challenge) it is more reasonable to ask to become stronger, or wiser or braver than it is to ask for the problems to go away. When you need these things, the universe in turn does its part to provide an endless variety of obstacles for you to sharpen your skills on. I’m not implying that we should rejoice in difficulty and rush to engage every conceivable adversity. I am suggesting that people who are comfortable with the idea that difficulty is also a path to value, seem to do better and build more durable things.

Hasn't it always been pretty hard ... and wasn't that part of winning?