As earlier said, situations have a way of forcing us to re-strategize and think deeper, depending on how we view or see the situation
You're absolutely right, Challenges are opportunities to grow since they remould us and let us the reason why why we have to change our orientation and mindset, just like adversity which is said to always prepare oneself to make absolute rethink in order for things to perfectly work out for us. I believe that it is during the hard time that we actually think of life as it is and not how we see it.
Growth takes place out of potentiality we realize from what life's situations posses as challenges to us, our potentiality, which is infinite and highly active in every moment of life. Come to know ourself as that. We are pure potential experiencing life through what seems like limitation. Challenges are spikes in that imaginary limitation barrier that guide us to awareness.
Your personal experience on steemit actually touched me, when I joined steemit on February I almost give up because I couldn't see the upvote coming nor the money in my pocket, I thought I was in the wrong platform at the right time, I checked other people post with more than $800, I used to ask myself then is this really true or what, it was when I realized that I have to stay focused and get out of the old feelings that I made the little progress today.
I remembered vividly when I used to take my post for people to upvote, like upvote me and I will do the same, but at the end of the day, I got 60 upvote but worth nothing, that is when I understand that the number doesn't actually count but the value speaketh.
The more I desire to stay focused, the more I'm learning everyday and I never stop learning, I can say I read more than 10000 words in a day now which I really learned a lot from. I have been doing cool ever since I realized that I had to get over the old thought and move on.