Real Examples of Overcoming Challenges: Shaping Who You Are

Before you start journaling, it helps to see real examples of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are in action. Not movie-style drama—regular people facing real life.

Think about these scenarios:

A marketing manager in her 30s hits full-on burnout after years of saying yes to everything. She starts having panic attacks, reads about stress and mental health on sites like the National Institute of Mental Health, talks to her doctor, and slowly rebuilds her life with boundaries and therapy. The challenge doesn’t vanish, but she becomes someone who honors her limits instead of ignoring them.

A college student fails two classes in a semester and loses his scholarship. After a few weeks of feeling ashamed, he meets with an academic advisor, learns about study strategies, and gets screened for ADHD. He doesn’t just “try harder"—he changes how he learns. That failure ends up shaping who he is as a more self-aware, organized adult.

These are real examples of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are, because the person on the other side is not the same as the one who started. That’s exactly what your journal can help you notice and strengthen.

Career and money: examples of overcoming challenges that reshape identity

Work and finances are two of the loudest sources of stress right now. Surveys from 2024 show that money and the economy are still top stressors for adults in the U.S., according to the American Psychological Association. That means many of the best examples of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are will come from this area of life.

Picture these stories:

You’re laid off from a job you thought was secure. At first, it feels like a verdict on your worth. But over a few months, you:

• List your actual skills in your journal instead of your job title.
• Reach out to three people a week for informational interviews.
• Take a free online course through a community college or platform linked from a university site.

Six months later, you’re in a new role that fits you better, and more importantly, you’ve become someone who can handle uncertainty with a bit more courage.

Or maybe you grew up with constant money anxiety. In your 20s or 30s, you finally sit down and:

• Track every expense for a month.
• Read a basic budgeting guide from an extension program like Cornell Cooperative Extension or a community financial education nonprofit.
• Create a simple plan to pay down one debt at a time.

The challenge here isn’t just numbers. It’s rewriting the story from “I’m bad with money” to “I’m someone who can learn and improve.” That shift is one of the clearest examples of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are at a core identity level.

Career & money journaling prompts:

Use these prompts to explore your own example of overcoming challenges in work or finances:

• Write about a time a setback at work changed how you see yourself. What did you believe about yourself before it happened, and what do you believe now?
• Describe the most stressful money period of your life. How did you cope? What did you learn about your values from that season?
• Imagine your future self five years from now looking back at today’s career or money challenge. What would they thank you for doing differently right now?

Health and burnout: examples include quiet, invisible battles

Some of the most powerful examples of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are never show up on social media. They happen in doctor’s offices, therapy sessions, and quiet moments on the couch when you finally admit, “I can’t keep going like this.”

Think about someone who has been ignoring chronic pain or fatigue for years. One day, it gets bad enough that they finally schedule a checkup. They read up on symptoms from a trusted source like Mayo Clinic or MedlinePlus, push for a diagnosis, and learn they have an autoimmune condition. Life doesn’t magically get easier, but they:

• Learn to pace their energy instead of burning out weekly.
• Say no more often.
• Build a routine around sleep, nutrition, and movement.

Their identity shifts from “I’m lazy” to “I’m managing a real health condition with courage.” That’s a quiet but powerful example of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are.

Or consider burnout, which the World Health Organization now recognizes as an occupational phenomenon. A teacher who once loved their job starts waking up with dread, snapping at students, and getting sick constantly. After reading about burnout from sources like NIH and talking with a counselor, they:

• Take a leave of absence or reduce hours.
• Join a support group.
• Start journaling nightly about stress triggers and small wins.

Over time, they redefine success—not as perfection, but as staying aligned with their values and limits.

Health & burnout journaling prompts:

• Write about a health scare or burnout moment that forced you to slow down. How did it change your priorities?
• List three ways your body has tried to get your attention over the years (fatigue, headaches, insomnia, etc.). What might each one be asking you to notice?
• If your body could write you a letter about the challenge you’re facing right now, what would it say?

Relationships and boundaries: examples of overcoming challenges in connection

Relationships are where many real examples of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are show up in raw, unfiltered form. Conflict, breakups, family tension, and even healthy boundary-setting can feel like mini earthquakes.

Imagine someone who grew up in a family where saying no was treated as betrayal. As an adult, they always overextend themselves. Eventually, they hit a breaking point—maybe after caring for a sick parent, managing kids, and working full-time. They finally see a therapist, read about boundaries from mental health organizations like NAMI, and start practicing small no’s.

At first, they feel guilty. But over time, they:

• Say no without overexplaining.
• Choose relationships where respect goes both ways.
• Stop trying to rescue everyone.

This is a powerful example of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are into someone who values their own needs.

Or think about a friendship that ended badly. You might be tempted to label it as a failure. But in your journal, you can:

• Unpack what actually happened, without sugarcoating.
• Notice patterns you don’t want to repeat.
• Identify the kind of friend you want to be going forward.

That reflection turns a painful memory into one of the best examples of overcoming challenges by learning how you want to show up in relationships.

Relationship journaling prompts:

• Describe a conflict that changed how you communicate. What did you do differently afterward?
• Write about a time you set a boundary. How did others react, and how did you feel in your body and emotions?
• Think of a relationship that ended. What strengths did you discover in yourself during or after that ending?

Grief, loss, and identity: example of growth after heartbreak

Loss—of a person, a dream, a version of yourself—might be the hardest category of all. Yet some of the deepest examples of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are come from these chapters.

Consider someone who loses a parent, partner, or close friend. In the first year, they’re just trying to make it through the day. They might:

• Join a grief support group through a hospital or community center.
• Read about grief stages from sources like Hospice Foundation of America.
• Use journaling to talk to the person they lost, writing letters they never got to send.

Over time, they:

• Honor anniversaries and memories intentionally.
• Advocate for causes their loved one cared about.
• Soften in some areas, toughen in others.

They don’t “get over” the loss, but they grow around it. Their compassion, priorities, and sense of time all shift. This is an example of overcoming challenges not by erasing pain, but by letting it shape a wiser, more tender version of you.

Another modern example: the loss of a dream. Maybe you trained for years for a career that didn’t work out, or infertility changed your picture of family. These stories don’t always get public sympathy, but they’re real examples of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are into someone who can rewrite their future.

Grief & loss journaling prompts:

• Write about something (or someone) you lost that changed you forever. What parts of you were born in the aftermath of that loss?
• If you could sit with your past self on the hardest day of that loss, what would you tell them now?
• How has grief changed what you care about—and what you no longer have patience for?

Using journaling to turn challenges into identity shifts

Now that you’ve seen several real examples of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are, it’s time to turn the spotlight inward. Your journal is where you connect the dots between “hard thing that happened” and “person I’m becoming.”

Here’s a simple way to do that, step by step, without turning it into a homework assignment you dread.

Step 1: Name the challenge clearly
Instead of writing, “Life has been hard,” name one specific challenge: a breakup, a diagnosis, a layoff, a move, a conflict. The clearer you are, the easier it is to see the shape of it.

Try this sentence stem:

The challenge I’m writing about today is…

Step 2: Describe the “before” version of you
Every example of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are has a “before” snapshot. Who were you right before this challenge began?

You might explore:

• What you believed about yourself.
• What you thought you could or couldn’t handle.
• What you assumed your future would look like.

Prompt: Before this challenge, I thought I was someone who…

Step 3: Capture the messy middle
Most people skip this, but the messy middle is where the growth actually happens.

Write about:

• The worst days.
• The coping strategies you tried (healthy or not).
• The people or resources that showed up—friends, therapists, books, hotlines, podcasts, articles from sites like Harvard Health.

Prompt: In the middle of this challenge, I started to notice that I…

Step 4: Notice who you are now
Even if the challenge isn’t “finished,” you’re not the same person you were at the start. This is where you turn your story into one of the best examples of overcoming challenges by naming your growth.

You might ask:

• What can I handle now that would have overwhelmed me before?
• What values became non-negotiable for me because of this?
• How did my definition of success, love, or strength change?

Prompt: Because of this challenge, I have become someone who…

Step 5: Choose one next step
Every example of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are includes a next step, even a small one. You don’t have to fix everything. Just choose one action that aligns with the person you’re becoming.

That might be:

• Scheduling a therapy session.
• Having a hard conversation.
• Applying for a job you feel underqualified for.
• Saying no to something that drains you.

Prompt: The next small step that honors who I’m becoming is…

FAQ: Real examples of overcoming challenges and how to journal about them

How do I find real examples of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are in my own life?
Start by scanning your life in chapters: childhood, teens, early adulthood, recent years. In each season, ask: What was the hardest thing I went through? Then ask a second question: What changed in me because of that? The moment you can name even a tiny shift—more patience, less people-pleasing, stronger boundaries—you’ve found an example of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are.

What are some simple examples of challenges I can journal about if my life doesn’t feel dramatic?
Not every example of overcoming challenges has to be a life-or-death story. Real examples include learning to speak up in meetings, adjusting to working from home, caring for a newborn, moving to a new city, navigating social anxiety, or going back to school later in life. If it stretched you, it counts.

Is there a good example of a journaling prompt to use on really hard days?
Yes. Try this: “Today was hard because… But the fact that I am still here means…” Let yourself fill in both halves honestly. This one prompt can turn a rough day into an example of overcoming challenges by highlighting your persistence, even if it doesn’t feel impressive.

What if I can’t see any growth yet from my challenge?
That’s normal, especially if you’re in the middle of it. Instead of forcing a happy ending, journal about what you hope this will shape in you—more compassion, more courage, more clarity. Sometimes writing a “future reflection” from a year ahead can help you imagine your own best examples of overcoming challenges before you fully live them.

Can journaling really change how I handle challenges, or is it just venting?
Venting has its place, but reflection is where change happens. Research from sources like NIH suggests that expressive writing can reduce stress and help people make meaning from difficult experiences. When you use prompts that ask about values, identity, and next steps, you’re training your brain to look for growth, not just pain. Over time, your journal becomes a record of real examples of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are—proof that you can survive hard things and keep evolving.

If you take nothing else from this, take this: you already have examples of overcoming challenges: shaping who you are. Your journal is simply the place where you name them, honor them, and decide who you want to become next.