When you have big dreams, you’re going to have big challenges. If you were an average person you would have av... — Joel Osteen

When you have big dreams, you’re going to have big challenges. If you were an average person you would have average problems.

Author: Joel Osteen

Insight: There's something oddly reassuring in this idea, even if it sounds like a motivational poster at first. The real insight is that struggle isn't a sign you're doing something wrong—it might actually be evidence you're reaching for something real. Most of us spend time wishing our problems would disappear, but what if the size of your challenges is actually proportional to what you care about? Think about the person stressed about launching a business versus someone stressed about keeping their job. The first person chose complexity; the second inherited it. That distinction matters. When you aim higher, you're essentially signing up for a different class of obstacles—not worse obstacles necessarily, just ones that match the ambition. A parent raising kids faces different headaches than someone without that responsibility, but also something deeper. The tricky part is separating real big dreams from the anxiety we manufacture. Not every problem that feels huge actually signals meaningful ambition. But when you notice yourself wrestling with something genuinely hard, it's worth asking: does this difficulty exist because I'm reaching for something I actually want? Because if it does, the struggle becomes a different thing entirely—less like something happening to you, and more like something you're building.