[General] We can better understand ourselves.....

[Silverobama]

Tonight at an English club meeting, I met some special friends. A woman shared her stories of how she struggled to become an English teacher but finally failed and a man who shared us his stories of how he became strong from the verge of collapse when he knew that his father got cancer. I was moved by these stories and I also shared mine. How I learned to swim from being almost drowned and how I learned to drive a car after failing the test 11 times. I finally say something to express the idea:

We can better understand and know about ourselves in the process of facing ourselves against those impossibilities.

Is my italic sentence natural?

 

[tedmc]

I would say: In the face of adversities, we come to discover ourselves (our strengths and weaknesses) better.

 

[teechar]

Tonight at an English club meeting, I met some special friends. A woman shared her stories of how she struggled to become an English teacher but finally failed and a man who shared with us his stories of how he [STRIKE]became strong[/STRIKE] recovered from the verge of collapse [STRIKE]when he knew[/STRIKE] after discovering that his father got cancer. I was moved by these stories and I also shared mine — how I learned to swim [STRIKE]from[/STRIKE] after being almost drowned and how I learned to drive a car after failing the test 11 times. I finally [STRIKE]say[/STRIKE] said something to express the idea:

We can better understand and know more about ourselves in the process of facing [STRIKE]ourselves against[/STRIKE] up to those impossibilities.

Is my italic sentence natural?

See above.

 

[jutfrank]

No, your sentence is not good at all. Try saying again what exactly you mean.

 

[Silverobama]

No, your sentence is not good at all. Try saying again what exactly you mean.

How about this:

When dealing with challenges in our lives, we can realize our true potential.

What I want to express is that people recently I met had met some difficulties in their lives. They thought they would never conquer them but finally they did. Perhaps by perseverance, by never giving up, etc. By doing this they know they can deal with many challenges in their lives which they once thought they couldn't.

 

[tedmc]

How about "Failure is the mother of success" (Chinese saying)?

 

[jutfrank]

Your revised version is a much better expression of what I think you mean. To keep things as close as possible to your own formulation, I'd suggest:

It's by dealing with challenges in our lives that we realise our potential.
Dealing with challenges in our lives can help us realise our potential.

I'm not sure dealing with is the best collocation you could have used with challenges. Did you consider any other options?

 

[Silverobama]

I'm not sure dealing with is the best collocation you could have used with challenges. Did you consider any other options?

I can't think of any but I think it's good to use "deal with challenges" because once my late language adviser used "to deal with real-life challenges".

I'd use your versions as well as teechar's.

Much appreciated!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Tonight at an English club meeting, I met some special friends. A woman shared her stories of how she struggled to become an English teacher but finally failed and a man who shared [STRIKE]us[/STRIKE] his stories of how he became strong after being on the verge of collapse when he knew that his father had cancer. I was moved by these stories, and I also shared mine: how I learned to swim when I almost drowned and how I learned to drive a car after failing the test eleven times. I finally said something to express the idea:

We can better understand and know about ourselves in the process of facing ourselves against those impossibilities.

Is my italic sentence natural?

Not very. Especially confusing is "facing ourselves against."

I know you can come up with a clearer way to express your thought!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

How about this:

When dealing with challenges in our lives, we can realize our true potential. . . .

I like that a lot!

You can also say, "BY dealing with . . . ."