What does Each fresh crisis you encounter is an opportunity in disguise mean?

Answer 1

The meaning is literal: each crisis is also an opportunity if you look at it from another angle. In other words, even when things are down, when things seem impossible or there is some sort of setback in life, if you look at it from another angle it can be made into an opportunity. For example, divorce may seem like a crisis in your love life but it may be an opportunity to find someone you are more compatible with or it can liberate you from the strictures of the relationship. The saying is meant to stress the positive aspects of life and living.

The phrase stems from a popular misperception in the United States of the Chinese word for 'crisis'. During a speech in 1959, John F. Kennedy claimed that the two characters used to write the Chinese word for 'crisis' separately mean 'danger' and 'opportunity'. Although incorrect, its use in humanistic and existential psychology and later in motivational speaking has popularised the claim.