You can’t always be in the reaping stage or the harvest stage of life. Life has seasons.

While we would all undoubtedly prefer to experience perpetual success and abundance, that’s simply unrealistic, as actress Emma Watson points out here. It’s important to remember that to reach the bountiful times, we must first put in the work — without sowing, there can be no reaping or harvesting. Much like nature, life is cyclical, and whether it’s a matter of making difficult choices, delaying instant gratification for better outcomes in the future, or weathering the unpredictable storms that come our way, we must shoulder our way through the harder seasons to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Maintaining a balanced perspective and embracing both the easy and the arduous moments can improve our resilience and help us appreciate those sweet moments of success all the more when they do come.