Overcoming Adversity Part 2

This lesson continues our discussion about Overcoming Adversity on the blog I posted Dec 14 where I mentioned the three Thought Components which are in your control.

The first of these is pretty self-explanatory. Mental Missteps are things you could have done differently to avoid the adverse situation. Maybe you approached a client the wrong way and caused him or her to reject your pitch. Maybe you fudged a little on what could deliver for a client. Maybe a goal you set for yourself was truly unachievable.

Whatever the case, identifying Mental Missteps involves honestly assessing your own thought process in a situation and learning what you can do to avoid adversity in the future. A lot of times just doing this might shed some light on what caused the current problem and help you solve it. Maybe you can go back to your client and say, “Look, I came off the wrong way before, here’s what I’m trying to say.”

Fault is not usually the property of just one person in an argument. Being honest with yourself and those you deal with will cut down on adverse situations considerably.

The second Thought Component, Negative Energies, refers to negative thoughts and feelings that come up in tough situations. Sometimes, adversity can defeat us if we let negative thoughts and feelings bog us down. You may be down on yourself for a bad situation or you may look at the other person (or people) involved and say, “Jeez, there’s just no dealing with people like that.” Either way, you’re shutting down the possibility of growth.

The legendary businessman Lee Iacocca once said, “In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.” You gotta agree with Lee! Converting negative energy into positive action gives you fuel to move forward and speaks to the last Thought Component…Confidence Issues.

Many times, adverse situations can erode confidence. Questioning yourself and your actions is only healthy if you find answers. Lacking confidence and constantly questioning yourself produces nothing! It’s only when you find answers for your questions that you grow and overcome adversity.

The great Alexander Graham Bell once said, “Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.” By focusing so much on your shortcomings and losing confidence in yourself, you fail to see how you can use the opportunity to learn more about yourself and the world around you. You can learn how to better perform by asking tough, honest questions and finding the answers that help you to have even more confidence in yourself.   

I’ll leave you today with a thought from Washington Irving, the author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Irving once said, “Great minds have purposes; little minds have wishes. Little minds are subdued by misfortunes; great minds rise above them.”

I resolve to seek progress, not perfection and progress requires overcoming adversity....will you join me?

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Overcoming Adversity - Part 1

Today, I want to take a moment of your time to talk about a topic that hits us all pretty hard from time to time…adversity.

Now, of course, in the few minutes I have here with you, I’m not going to be able to tell you how to get over all of the individual obstacles you encounter in life and in work.

Even if I had the time, I couldn’t do that. We all have our own roads to travel with different bumps and different bends. It’s not possible for me to have all of the answers for you. But, what I can provide are approaches to overcoming adversity…ways to think about tough situations so that you can turn adversities into advantages.

Whether our adversity comes from within or from other people, we usually have the means to overcome adversity inside of us, like an emergency axe waiting for us to break the glass.

But successfully overcoming adversity is not totally gauged by whether we solve the current problem in the best way possible.  We must also grow and move forward with confidence! That’s the key to rising above obstacles and moving past them.

When some people come up against an obstacle they feel is insurmountable, they are mentally crippled by it. The adverse situation is not only a problem in and of itself, it also affects the way a person deals (or doesn’t deal) with every such problem going forward.

But, by taking a step back and looking at an adverse situation with a cool head, you can solve the problem at hand in the best way possible, and give yourself an advantage the next time a similar problem rears it’s ugly head.

An adverse situation usually has three Thought Components, or things you can control just by thinking about them:

• Mental Missteps
• Negative Energies; and
• Confidence Issues

In Part 2 of overcoming adversity, we will discuss what these three components, until then set your mental compass towards progress and continue on your journey.

...to be continued.

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