What Is Adversity?
Adversity is defined as an unpleasant or difficult situation. As humans our natural reaction to a difficult situation is that we don’t really like it. We generally tend to think we would be perfectly fine and happy without an annoying thorn in the flesh. But adversity creeps into all our lives anyway. In some way, shape or form we all face difficulty.
How Does Adversity Help Us?
They say that one knows and realizes the true character and essence of a man when he is tried and put through the fire. We see this even in nature – a pearl is formed because a tiny grain of sand is a big botheration for the oyster, diamonds are formed when coal is under a lot of pressure for extended periods of time. There is something very interesting and remarkable about adversity. Maybe it’s in the way it manages to strip away the impurities and unwanted parts in us or in the way it smoothens out rough edges. It certainly makes us strong in ways we could not have imagined.
How Can We Use Adversity To Our Advantage?
The funny thing is, we don’t necessarily choose adversity. More often than not difficult life situations are perceived as something that happens to us. In challenging situations, there are those of us who just let ourselves be dragged along and then there are those of us who take charge of the things we can, because the truth is, even in the midst of an adversity we are not out of control and we are not helpless. So, how can we use adversity to our advantage? How can we feel in control when things are seemingly out of control?
We have the ability to choose!!!! To be able to choose is our greatest weapon and contributes towards a sense of being in control and a sense of empowerment.
- We can choose our attitude
“I might be the smallest of the litter, but I am gonna get the biggest fish!” said the little kitten. Our attitude makes the biggest difference.
- We can choose our perspective/ what we focus on
“I know everything is not going the way I would like it, but maybe I can think of the things I am grateful for…”
- We can choose our thoughts and the way we think about things
“I can always try again later, the story doesn’t end here”
- We can choose how to feel about something
“I am sad I didn’t succeed this time, but grateful I can try again and hopeful that next time will be better.”
- We can choose our actions and how we behave
Think about your actions in times of adversity. Are your actions aggressive, gentle, kind, selfish, healthy or unhealthy? What fuels your actions? Is it love or survival? Is it fear or selfishness? Is it kindness or revenge? Is it stress or urgency?
- We can choose our words – are they kind, hurtful, snappy, thoughtful, careless? Do your words build people up or tear them down?
- And most importantly we can choose the kind of person we want to be when faced with adversity.
That is 7 things you are in control of even in the face of the worst adversity. At Yellow Brick Counseling we show you how to use your adversity to become the person you want to be! Let’s not wait for things to just change automatically. Let’s make the effort to recognize what we can change and start to make that change intentionally.
So, who do you choose to be today?
Copyright © Yellowbrickcounseling.com | Author: Anugrah Bhagwat
