A winner will find a way to win. Winners take bad breaks and use them to drive themselves to be that much better.
Quitters take bad breaks and use them as a reason to give up.
It’s all a matter of pride” [Nancy Lopez].
Bad break, trouble, bump in the road, adversity, it doesn’t really matter what you call it. Circumstances have conspired against you. Your progress has been slowed or, maybe, even stalled. Energy and effort that had been propelling you toward your dream are now diverted to addressing the problem and rectifying the situation.
So, how do you react when adversity crashes your party? Do you play the sorrowful “Why me?” card, or do you recognize it as an opportunity for growth?
“Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records [William A. Ward].
In the story, I Had Trouble in getting to Solla Sollew, Dr. Seuss relates the tale of an individual who is enjoying a trouble-free life until — one day , out of the blue — everything changes.
“And I learned there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
From above! And below!
And now I was really in trouble, you know.
The rocks! And the Quail! And the Skritz! And the Skrink!
I had so many troubles, I just couldn’t think.”
Ever been there? Circumstances so dire, you just can’t think? Your stomach is upset, your mind won’t slow down, you are unable to sleep. After all the gallant effort you have put forth, how could it be that you are now facing menacing giants who are lurking, waiting, planning your demise?
“Watch out for emergencies. They are your big chance!” [Fritz Reiner].
In Spring 2008 I completed my business degree and anticipated a bright future filled with golden opportunities. Unfortunately, six months later I was displaced by my employer as the economy began running toward recession.
I couldn’t catch a break. The giants came knocking at my door — loudly. As the pressure mounted, I could not imagine the opportunities that would later present themselves as a result of the “unfortunate circumstances” that had settled over my life.
Horace once said, “adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant” [Quintus Horatius Flaccus].
The past eight months have proven that statement to be absolutely true. Among other adventures, I have used the “opportunity of unemployment” to further develop my writing skills. The additional time and attention to writing has resulted in, among other things, one of my essays being published in Columbus Monthly. I have grown in ways that would have been unimaginable if I had been working 40 hours a week.
“I have learned that adversity is an experience, not a final act” [Michael LeBoeuf], and that sometimes the only response to life is “to accept whatever comes, . . . meet it with courage and with the best you have to give” [Eleanor Roosevelt].
The fellow who kept running away from his problems and toward utopia in the Dr. Seuss’ story, continued to encounter ongoing adversity until he realized that running from trouble is not a solution and, searching for a trouble-free existence is a waste of time:
Then I started back home to the Valley of Vung.
I know I’ll have troubles. I’ll maybe get stung.
I’ll always have troubles. I’ll, maybe get bit,
by that Green-Headed Quail on the place where I sit.
But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready, you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me.”
When adversity visits your life, don’t sit around with your head in the sand. It’s your big chance! Adversity is the green light. It is the signal to take action — run toward the conflict — face the giants.
After all, “problems are only opportunities in work clothes” [Henry Kaiser].
Whatever you are, be a good one!
Deanna
