How Will You Respond?

To be successful, irrespective of field, you must be equipped to properly respond to adversity.

Too many people attempt to go through life avoiding adversity, but when you do that you ostracize yourself from growth.?

Think of it like this:

1. Adversity will inevitably find you. That’s why you need to “cooperate with the inevitable” as Dale Carnegie reminds us.
2. Your response is the problem – not the problem itself. Viktor Frankl revealed as much in his insights from a captivating journey of survival in Nazi concentration camps.
3. You gain strength from overcoming hardship. Therefore, if you want to be as strong and capable as possible, seeking out problems (and, subsequently, solutions) would be a much more effective use of your time than simply running from them.

That brings us to a poem I want to share with you, which has had a profound impact on my life.

I asked for strength

and God gave me difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for wisdom

and God gave me problems to learn to solve.

I asked for prosperity

and God gave me a brain and brawn to work.

I asked for courage

and God gave me dangers to overcome.

I asked for love

and God gave me people to help.

I asked for favours

and God gave me opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted.

I received everything I needed.

— Hazrat Inayat Khan.

When you adopt this lens, you recognize – and even appreciate – that the Universe is giving you exactly what you need to prepare you for the life you want.

Believe me, there have been hundreds of times where I felt deserving of success, only to have adversity come out of left field. In many cases, it felt soul-destroying in the short-term.

However, with the benefit of hindsight:

• It tested my resolve, to prove how committed I was to my own growth – and how badly I wanted it;
• It made me more resourceful, so I developed skills and relationships that could attract everything I needed; and
• Perhaps most importantly, it made me more resilient, so I could learn how to find inspiration and advantage in whatever obstacle was placed before me.

You will be tested – over and over and over and OVER again…

Recognize it.

Appreciate it.?

And understand the hard truth: that the test you have been given is even more significant than how it appears at face value – because your resolve, resourcefulness, and resilience must be sharpened before you’re ready to receive.

The next time you complain about adversity, look at the bigger picture and reframe...

You mightn’t be getting what you want, but there’s a damn good chance you’re getting what you need...

Onward and upward always,

James Whittaker

#WinTheDay

PS - Did you enjoy this post? Drop a comment to let me know what you think...

In case you missed it: I wrote an important article on mental health titled 'How to Save a Life'. It's an important one, so please check it out.