Adversity: a Forcing Function

I learnt of the phrase forcing-functions from Dr. Benjamin Hardy. Simply put a forcing function is an action or the setting up of circumstances that push you in a desired direction. A Crude example of a forcing function is when you soak your clothes on a weekend when you are feeling lazy. The very action of soaking them forces you to finish the task by ensuring you rinse and air them.

How can adversity be turned into a forcing function?

There are times when you need to train yourself to handle adversity. Not every adversity is meant for you to run away from. If you are fond of running away from challenges, you must note that you are also running away from crucial lessons.

Some adversity is meant to help you put on your thinking cap. The old adage goes ‘calm waters never made a great sailor.’ If you want to move from an amateur in creativity or sports, you must be ready to take on the toughest challenges on the menu.

As a creator you need to ask yourself the question, how have I grown this week? What do I know this week that I didn’t know last week? What new challenge have I taken on this week? What am I in the midst of learning this week?? If there is nothing you are grappling with then chances are you have stopped learning and growing.

Don’t get into the habit of running away from issues you need to grapple with. Your creative juices flow better as you sit with tough issues beyond your capacity. This is one of the reasons why we need to embrace the discipline of meditation. Most of us are easily swayed from the things we need to be working on because we don’t have the discipline to stay focused on something until it is done. When was the last time you had a difficult challenge and you trained all your faculties on finding a solution? For many of us what happens is that while we are thinking of this challenge, there are one hundred other things going through our minds and as such we are not able to allow our creativity to thrive as it focuses on the issue at hand. As creators we must train ourselves to live in the moment and find the solution to the problem at hand. This cannot happen if we sweep it under the carpet. It only happens as we face the issues head on and are willing to face them for as long as it takes us to resolve them.

One of the tactics that Special Forces like the Navy Seals use to prepare themselves for future situations is simulations. There are many war games that take place every year as forces try to anticipate what would happen and how they would respond to it. This is a proactive way of using adversity to your advantage. Instead of waiting to encounter tough situations firsthand on the battlefield you try to recreate them in training so that you are prepared for when the real deal shows up. This is an example of using adversity as a forcing function. The forces are left with no option but to think through how they would successfully navigate the hypothetical situation. This releases their creativity. You will realize that the human mind is capable of coming up with a lot of creative solutions when put under pressure. If you want your creativity to ooze out and be seen, be ready to put yourself under artificial pressure. The more you do this, the better you can handle real pressure when it comes your way. A proactive creator will do what needs to be done in practice so that he is better prepared on the battlefield. A pro athlete will practice the necessary routines and learn how to navigate the challenging ones in practice so that he is better prepared to handle the opponent. Fall in love with adversity and it won’t scare you one bit when it matters.

Which giants are you inspired to go face after reading this? What adversity is this you need to grapple with? The time to rise up and do it is now. Go champ go. You have everything it takes.