Depression, Endurance, and Growth: How to Know Which Is Which

Adversity is inevitable—but how we respond determines whether it becomes a weight, a test, or a path forward. In this episode, we distinguish between depression, endurance, and growth: three very different experiences that can look the same on the surface. The conversation challenges us to discern when we are stuck, when we are holding steady, and when we are truly being refined.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Depression disguises itself as permanence, convincing us “this is just the way life is”
• Endurance sustains us, but without openness it risks becoming mere stagnation
• Growth requires awareness, risk, and a willingness to remain open through challenge

💬 Featured Quotes

• 0:00:00 – “Depending where you are in your life and where you are in the world right now, some of the advice and guidance… may seem challenging.”
• 0:00:12 – “There are opportunities for you to choose adversity. There are other opportunities for you to grow through adversity.”
• 0:00:20 – “But in some cases, you might be tempted to believe that the adversity that you’re facing… is just the way life is.”
• 0:00:28 – “When you start to accept them as normative, it’s important to understand that there are probably other things going on.”

🔗 Explore Related Episodes

• When Willpower Fails: Rethinking the Virtue of Struggle
  — Examines the limits of sheer endurance and reframes struggle in more meaningful terms.
• The Ashlar and the Question of Growth
  — Directly engages the symbolism of refinement through chosen and unchosen challenges.
• From the Cave to the Lodge: Escaping the Shadows of Superstition
  — Reflects on moving from darkness into clarity, resonating with the distinction between depression and growth.

   

Creators and Guests

Host

Brian Mattocks

Host and Founder of A Mason's Work - a podcast designed to help you use symbolism to grow. He's been working in the craft for over a decade and served as WM, trustee, and sat in every appointed chair in a lodge - at least once :D

What is A Mason's Work?

In this show we discuss the practical applications of masonic symbolism and how the working tools can be used to better yourself, your family, your lodge, and your community. We help good freemasons become better men through honest self development. We talk quite a bit about mental health and men's issues related to emotional and intellectual growth as well.

depending where you are in your life and where you are in the world right now, some of the advice and guidance over the last two episodes may seem challenging.

Right.

There are opportunities for you to choose adversity.

There are other opportunities for you to grow through adversity.

But in some cases, you might be tempted to believe that the adversity that you're facing or the challenges in your life are in some way just the way life is.

You accept them as normative.

And when you start to accept them as normative, it's important to understand that there are probably other things going on.

That's not to say that adversity itself isn't normal. It absolutely is.

But when you are in a situation where you do not find a way to be open through those adversities through those challenges in your life, you do not find a way to embrace them with curiosity and with growth.

There's a good chance that you probably have some other stuff going on.

There is kind of socially in the United States, minimally, but across the world right now, it is a different, you know, different period of time.

We are globally experiencing some level of the impact of things like sort of unchecked capitalist behavior, right?

So you are being marketed to constantly at all times, being told that you're not good enough and things like that.

So when you look at the overall sort of global picture, it is entirely reasonable to develop some maybe programming, self programming that tells you that you know, suffering is your lot in life.

And suffering is not your lot in life. It is absolutely untrue. You have potentials and capacities that remain to be explored.

You have hope and curiosity and wonder all awaiting you. These realities about the way the world works.

So you are constrained mentally by the sort of messages you've been given in a lot of cases.

The messages you tell yourself the messages that the marketplace tells you, et cetera, et cetera.

So if you find yourself in a situation where you are unable to look at the current adversities you're facing with a sense of openness and honesty and integrity and wonder.

There's a very good chance that you have something else going on either a clinical depression or some level of maladaptive coping behavior that just doesn't help you move through and grow from the adversities you're experiencing.

Now, that's not to say horrible things don't exist as you've heard in, you know, other episodes, you know, there are definitely events in life that are not easy to overcome.

There are events in life, some of which you just endure and live through.

But if you can't find the opportunity inside those those events, again, that's a good chance. That's a good indication that your perspective, perhaps, is informed by something longer term, maybe clinical.

So when you are going out into the everyday life and into the world, be mindful of how you're responding to the adversities you experience.

You want to look for the little thoughts, maybe in the back of your mind that say, hey, maybe I could do that better or maybe there's a better way here or maybe there's an opportunity to grow or maybe we could do it differently.

Those kinds of thoughts which oftentimes get kind of brushed aside really are the foundation of sort of inspiration and openness and growth.

So listen for those tiny voices that again, oftentimes get get confused or get silenced by the louder voices in your head that try to enable your suffering or try to take pride in your ability to endure.

As opposed to as a alternative to perhaps taking pride in your ability to learn and grow.

Look for those listen for those voices, look for the signs that you you might be on the sort of path to doing something just a little bit better if only you had some curiosity or some openness in you so that you can move that forward.

This is not a hard and fast thing, right? So don't assume that every adversity that you kind of just take it in the face as it were is sort of the indication that it's, you know, clinical depression is happening to you or with you or through you.

But at the same time, if you find that you're not looking through these adversities with kind of the openness and challenge that we talked about in the last episode or with curiosity and inspiration to perhaps come up with a solution out of it.

Again, disregarding global catastrophe level stuff, right? If your house was destroyed in the earthquake, like grief, go through that process. But at the same time, if you have kind of are accepting that the world is garbage for you.

And that's just your lot in life. There's a good chance that you're, you've got other stuff going on and you should consider getting professional help or guidance on maybe ways to get through that.

It is not supposed to be you're not supposed to be suffering in that way. Like that's not the way people are designed. So if you have any questions or are looking to figure out the right solutions for you.

You can join us in our online community on discord, Mason's work or reach out to me via email and I can get you guys connected. Thanks much. Have a great weekend.