You're going to go through tough times - that's life. But I say

The words of Joel Osteen, “You’re going to go through tough times—that’s life. But I say, ‘Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.’ See the positive in negative events,” shine like a torch lifted high in the night. They speak to the universal truth that suffering is inevitable, yet the meaning we give to suffering determines whether it breaks us or transforms us. To say that events happen for you is to embrace life as a teacher, even when its lessons come cloaked in pain. It is to see misfortune not as a curse, but as the forge of the soul.

The ancients too knew this path. In the tale of Hercules, the hero’s labors were not inflicted to destroy him, but to reveal his greatness. Each task, though cruel and exhausting, tempered his spirit and proved his strength. So too with us: the lions we fight, the burdens we carry, the stumbles we endure—these are not accidents meant to shatter us, but necessary fires that shape our destiny. Osteen’s words echo this old wisdom: the negative event is not merely a stumbling stone, but a hidden treasure of growth.

History gives us a living example in the life of Nelson Mandela. For twenty-seven years he endured the darkness of prison, torn from freedom and family. To many, such a fate would seem the cruelest of tragedies. Yet Mandela, in later years, declared that prison had given him time to reflect, to refine his patience, to deepen his resolve. What seemed to happen to him was in truth shaping him for the greatness that lay ahead—the unifier of a divided nation. His story is proof that the positive can be found in the negative, that the abyss itself may hold the seed of triumph.

Osteen’s words carry a challenge: to shift the eye from victimhood to vision. The ordinary heart asks, “Why me?” But the awakened heart asks, “What is life trying to teach me here?” This is the transformation of perspective: from despair to discovery, from bitterness to blessing. The negative remains painful, yet it ceases to be meaningless. Each trial becomes a doorway to wisdom, each setback a step in the ascent.

The lesson is clear: you cannot avoid hardship, but you can choose its meaning. Life’s tough times are the chisels that carve your character. To see them as senseless is to let them crush you; to see them as purposeful is to rise renewed. Like gold refined in fire, the soul emerges brighter when it endures with faith. What happens in life may not be chosen, but the lens through which you see it is always within your power.

Practical actions arise from this wisdom. When trouble comes, resist the impulse to curse your fate. Instead, pause and ask: what can I learn here? What strength can I cultivate? Keep a journal of trials and the lessons drawn from them. Surround yourself with those who see possibility even in failure. And when others stumble, be the voice that reminds them: this too may serve a greater purpose. In doing so, you turn hardship into teacher, sorrow into guide, and loss into the ground of new creation.

Thus, Osteen’s words live as an enduring truth: “Nothing happens to you, it happens for you. See the positive in negative events.” In them lies the power to transform suffering into strength, tragedy into triumph, and despair into hope. Take them as a law of life: do not flee the storm, but meet it with eyes that search for the rainbow. For even in the darkest nights, life is working not to destroy you, but to prepare you for the dawn.