By India McCarty
Survivalist Bear Grylls starts every day in prayer, helping him weather the storms of life and face challenges.
“I try to start the day on my knees,” he told Guideposts. “I just get down on the floor next to the bed. My grandpa used to do that, and I always loved it. It’s a way to remind me to be grateful, to say sorry and to ask for help. It’s my way to survive the day really.”
Another way Grylls survives the day? Reminding himself that “storms make us stronger.”
“I hold on to that if I’m going through a hard time,” he explained. “A) I know it’s not going to last forever. And B) how I act in the storm defines me. Don’t run away from these difficult moments; they are opportunities.”
Related: Why Bear Grylls Turns to Jesus for Strength
One of those difficult moments is something that Grylls also calls the “hardest thing” he’s ever done — “Being selected for the British Special Forces was life-defining. It was probably the hardest 11 months of my life. I was 19. I failed the first time.”
“It was a reminder to me that the worthwhile things never come easy. You’ve got to go through the door of failure many times to get to the good stuff,” he explained. “I wasn’t the strongest or the fittest or the biggest or the smartest, but sometimes you’ve just got to hang on and be dogged and determined. In the end, only four of us out of 120 passed.”
Grylls continued, “And then losing my dad at a young age. I was 26; my wife and I were in our first year of marriage. I felt pretty vulnerable. But I look back now and I think sometimes having the rug pulled away from you gives you the fire to go out there and do something worthwhile. You’ve got to go out and grab life and make something of it.”
The reality star often shares encouraging messages about perseverance. In a 2023 social media post, Grylls wrote, “Hardships and pain nourish courage, we can’t be brave if we’ve only had wonderful things happen to us. Embrace the time of challenge… in truth, those times make us.”
In an essay for SL. Man, he shared, “I have failed so much in my life, more than you would ever imagine. As I often say, improvise, adapt, overcome.”
“People tend to remember us for the successes not the failures; they often don’t realise how many failures it took to reach the wins,” Grylls continued. “But I am proud of them, I wear them like scars, and I’m aware that they’ve been vital gateways to getting to the good stuff.”
Grylls’ fans might think the survivalist gets it right every time, but his message of working through difficulties and using failure to push you to work harder is one we can all use!
Read Next: Bear Grylls Shares Proudest Moment, And It’s Not What You Think
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