Let’s talk about hardship

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with a client who had accessed the services provided by the Financial Wellbeing Collective.

I was reminded again of the strength and resilience that people have, and of the brushes of fate that can tip us into hardship. It is not a choice as many would think it is. Life is like a deck of cards – you never know what hand you will be dealt or what the next card may be, working in your favour or against you. We respond and adjust, making do with what we have, hoping the next card or round will be a better one. Cards can be easily discounted, and we start afresh – life is not so easy.

When hardship comes your way, it can be tiring, frustrating and devastating impacting financial wellbeing, physical, emotional, and mental health.

As an individual, financial hardship is hard enough but worse when there is a family, and children involved. The individual I met is an incredible person raising children in an environment of love, learning and memories, despite the adversity faced by the challenges of life. These challenges can be factors outside of one’s control – unexpected health conditions, housing instability, relationship breakdowns and employment changes. One of these can often have a significant impact but add two or three to the mix and the challenge intensifies.

I was so impressed by this individual’s positivity to not only create a stable and loving home for their children, but the willingness to share their story and offer insights into how things could be made better in terms of government policy, funding, and available services. The openness shared about their story and circumstances was both humbling and refreshing. We don’t share our hardship – we keep it hidden as if it is a shameful badge. We don’t speak freely about the services we have accessed for fear of judgement as others can be quick to assume that our life choices have led to this. Sometimes the truth is deeper than what we presume.

So, tell your story. You may find common experiences with others, which will help you and give you paths to explore. You may encourage someone to seek out help and support, in an environment that can be difficult to access and navigate. And you may just be that voice of normality that let’s someone know that they are not alone and there is hope.

Hardship is not a judgement, a poor choice, a chosen pathway or a label. There is no shame in hardship – hardship is just something that happens.

Helena Jakupovic is General Manager of the Financial Wellbeing Collective. She has over 30 years’ experience in the financial services sector in executive roles, and over 10 years in the not-for-profit sector.