WHEN THE UNIVERSE CHALLENGES YOU
- Derek Hagen
- 9 hours ago
- 3 min read
❝When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.❞ -Viktor Frankl
Life doesn't ask you if it's fair; it asks you how you'll respond.
WHEN SOMETHING SMALL RUINS YOUR DAY
I’m walking my dog when I get an email from a popular media site that published one of my guest articles the day before.
Much to my surprise, the very next day, they published a piece from someone who regularly plagiarizes my work. It’s too close to be random.
And just like that, my peaceful walk is gone. My mind spins stories: It’s not fair, how could they do this? Why does this keep happening?
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That’s when I remembered a reframe that has helped me more than once: Whenever I’m presented with a challenge, I can choose to see it as a test from the universe. It sounds a little dramatic. But it works.
Instead of reacting, I pause. Instead of stewing, I get curious. Instead of spiraling, I ask: What is this asking of me?
It doesn’t magically fix the situation. But it changes my relationship to it. If something is within my control, I can act. If it isn’t, I can let it go.
Either way, I stay calmer. And that alone makes solving problems easier.
WHY DIFFICULTY IS NORMAL
It’s tempting to believe that the goal of life is to eliminate problems.
We imagine that once we get through this phase — once work settles down, once the kids are older, once we retire — things will finally smooth out.
We may even catch ourselves waiting for a future where problems finally drop to zero.
But no matter where we are in life, there will always be something to solve.
Problems aren’t interruptions to life. They’re part of being alive.
LIFE IS AN ONGOING SERIES OF PROBLEMS
Sometimes it feels like we’re running on a treadmill — solving one issue after another, hoping one day we can step off and just “live.”
But as author and philosopher Sam Harris points out, life is an unending series of complications.
That might sound like pessimism, but it’s realism. Having to solve problems is a universal human condition. If you’re alive, you’re navigating complications.
When we expect a smooth path, every new problem feels like an insult. When we expect friction, it stops feeling personal.
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A DIFFERENT WAY TO SEE CHALLENGES: THE "TEST" REFRAME
Here’s what usually happens: As problems get bigger, our emotional reaction grows with them.
That’s the default setting. Automatic. Subconscious.
But there’s another option. When you spot a problem, you can ask: What if this is a test?
Not a punishment. Not proof you’re failing. Just a challenge asking something of you.
That simple shift changes the curve.
The problem may still be there. But the emotional spike softens. Smaller problems drop away quickly. Bigger ones turn into puzzles instead of threats.
You’re no longer fighting reality; you’re responding to it.
CHOOSING YOUR RESPONSE WHEN LIFE DOESN'T FEEL FAIR
Seeing life as a series of tests from the universe might sound a little abstract. But the real point isn’t about the universe. It’s about perspective.
You don’t get to choose whether problems show up. You do get to choose how you meet them.
When you stop expecting life to be frictionless, you stop being surprised by normal difficulty. And when you reframe challenges as tests of your steadiness, creativity, or patience, something shifts. The problem doesn’t shrink, but your reaction does... and that’s often enough.
You get one life; live intentionally.
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REFERENCES AND INFLUENCES
Adams, Scott: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big
Burkeman, Oliver: The Antidote
Crosby, Daniel: The Soul of Wealth
Frankl, Viktor: Man’s Search for Meaning
Frankl, Viktor: Yes to Life, In Spite of Everything
Irvine, William: Guide to the Good Life
Irvine, William: A Slap in the Face
Irvine, William: The Stoic Challenge
Wallace, David Foster: This is Water
