Today our quote comes from Arthur Golden.
What is Adversity?
How do you deal with Adversity?
How do you handle it? Adversity,
like a challenge, is something to overcome when driving on your mission in
life. But Adversity is something greater
and much more sinister than a mere challenge.
Adversity is usually a prolonged, serious struggle, a difficult and
stressful hardship that won’t simply go away or disappear if you give it enough
time. It’s the giant gorilla in the room
if you will. Sometimes it is a physical
disability, sometimes, it’s a mental one.
Sometimes adversity comes from society, maybe it’s legal troubles, or
persons bent on causing you distress.
Unfortunately, adversity comes in many forms, and it haunts many people
in various ways. I for one have dealt
with adversity for many years. If anyone
of you has ever set foot into family court, you know exactly what I mean. I’ve also dealt with people suffering with
psychological problems, who don’t even realize the harm they are causing. You too might be dealing with something
similar, or even if it’s totally different, that adversity still remains.
Can you cope with it?
So how do we deal with this giant gorilla in the room? I mean it’s a monster and he won’t go
away. More than likely he’s going to
smash up the place. How do we stop
him? Okay, I’m using a metaphor here,
but hopefully you get the idea. And the
answer is, that giant gorilla probably won’t just go away, and he probably will
smash up the place, despite your best efforts.
Now I’m not saying his to dishearten you. No, actually I’m saying this to liberate
you. Life is full of sweet and wonderful
things, but also harsh and terrible things.
Accept that. Sometimes bad things
happen, no matter your preparedness, your contemplations, you plans and
contingencies. They happen
regardless. Now, some accidents and missteps
happen because you were unprepared, so by all means, try to prepare. Know this however; unexpected things occur
for which you cannot prepare. But that
doesn’t mean you have to just accept the strife and be miserable.
Whatever your adversity is, DO NOT let it define your life. Do not let it envelop your life or dictate
every action and thought you take or have.
Your personal adversity is not your master, your adversary yes, but not
your master. Once you let it take control,
burrowing deep into your mind, it will take over. So for every thought of gloom and doom, match
it with a positive one. Let yourself
experience as many positive things as possible, despite the adversity.
Even though I know my particular and personal adversity won’t go away
any time soon, I know I will NOT let it dominate my life. If I did, my life would be consumed by
it. Even if your adversity seems insurmountable,
just keep in mind there was a time when it didn’t control your life. If you truly believe, you can take back
control from it as well. Good Luck.
If you have questions or comments, I'd love to hear them. Thanks for reading.
