In the last post, Famous People Who Overcame Adversity, we described how famous people overcame adversity. It is important to remember that adversity happens to everyone. Today we are going to talk about how to stay strong during periods of adversity.
One thing is certain; difficult periods will never leave you the same way they met you. They will either break or make you.
Regardless of the support, you get from the people around you, you have a vital role to play to ensure that you come out stronger and not become vulnerable after the experience.
There are some benefits you will enjoy when you choose to stay strong during sad days. Here are some of them.
Greater Resilience
Resilience is the ability to bounce back after a setback. It’s a virtue many people don’t possess.
Unfortunately for them, it’s a skill that everyone must possess because of the unpredictable nature of life.
The topsy-turvy nature of life where you are smiling in the morning and sad in the evening requires mental strength to stay strong in the face of adversity.
Only resilient people can weather the storm and still reach their destinations.
Lack of resilience is the reason people suffer from mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.
It’s also the reason some people feel that the best decision they could make during dark days is to take their lives. So, it’s crucial to build a resilient spirit.
However, you can never achieve this feat when you have never had to weather the storm.
It’s adversity that trains you to be mentally strong. When you face a challenge, and you come out on the other side in flying colors, you have increased the level of your resilience.
This doesn’t mean that you should crave and desire to be in unpleasant situations.
However, when you find yourself in one, see it as an opportunity to build mental strength for the future.
Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills
No one inherits resilience or for that matter problem-solving skills. The only way to acquire these skills is by facing and being able to overcome challenges.
One thing is for sure, you need to have the right attitude or you won’t be able to solve any problem.
In fact, it is your attitude which is your mental disposition, that is going to trigger a specific behavior when you are challenged.
However, with the right attitude, you will be able to see that every situation, no matter how hard, has a solution.
You may not have the answers right away, but you will find the answer.
That positive state of mind will inspire you to ask the right questions from the right people and eventually find ways to solve the problem.
Indeed, the right mindset will take you far. It will make you dogged and rugged. However, you cannot solve a problem unless you have the skills.
You need to know how to tackle a challenge and nothing gives you that better than when you have dealt with a similar problem in the past.
So, when you face a challenge and overcome it, you have enhanced your ability to solve problems. You will be able to use the experience to solve similar problems in the future.
You know what to do, and that gives you an edge over others who are new to such situations.
Leadership Skills
Leaders are chosen and trusted because of their experience and ability. No one wants to hire a person who has never driven a car before to be his or her driver.
You want a person you can trust to get you to your destination with minimal stress.
When you have faced adversity in the past, and you stood your ground, you’ll enhance your suitability as a leader. It’s natural that people will want to trust you.
You’ll command their respect when they know that you have been through similar situations before and succeeded.
Great leaders are men and women who can keep a calm head when there is a storm. They are the ones others trust as a source of inspiration when the chips are down.
Everyone needs that leader that will stir up optimism during the dark days when throwing in the towels seems like the obvious choice.
People always need people they can believe in. They want to believe in you.
They want to be sure that you know what you are doing, even when what you are saying doesn’t make sense to them.
It is the days of adversity that will prepare you for such a sensitive role.
Higher Self-Esteem
It’s natural that you’ll have a sense of accomplishment after overcoming a challenge.
You’ll be proud of yourself, and this improves the way you see yourself.
You will see yourself as a person that deserves the respect and love of others because you can add value to their lives.
When you have low self-esteem, you are likely to have low self-efficacy.
Your self-efficacy is the level of confidence you have in your ability to succeed in a task before performing it.
When you have low self-esteem, people will find it difficult to trust you to handle their projects, which can also take its toll on your chances of getting a job.
It will also make others not want to trust you to lead them. They will see you as a person who cannot lead themself. So you should not talk of leading others.
It is important to realize that people with low self-esteem might have a hard time making friends.
This can be very damaging socially.
Empathy
When you have never been through what others have been through, you’ll find it difficult to empathize with them.
There is no level of understanding you can have that can be the same as a person who has lost his or her loved one before.
If you have never had that kind of experience, you cannot have a full grasp of what such people are going through.
The world is full of many destructive critics today who are either hypocrites or just lack the understanding of what others are going through.
Some football pundits who have never coached any football club before are fond of making damaging remarks about current coaches.
It’s easy for them to judge others because they don’t know what it means to try to make over twenty people do what you want while keeping them happy.
Anyone who has been through challenging times can easily relate to other people who may also be going through a similar challenge in their lives.
You’ll not tell them to just move on from the situation. You’ll have words of encouragement for them.
If you are their boss, you’ll not have issues with giving them days off to recover emotionally from the shock.
Lower Anxiety
Some people have a disposition of being calm and collected even when they are facing extremely challenging situations.
Anyone would expect these people to be totally overcome and shed a few tears. However, they seem unaffected by the challenges they are facing.
The reason for this is that they have previous experience of this type of challenge.
Even though they may be hurting, they know that they don’t have to make a snap decision on anything that they later might regret.
In fact, some people are able to radiate confidence and even be able to transmit calmness which is often rather shocking to other people.
They may even end up consoling people who are there to encourage them.
How can they do this? They are able to face difficult situations is because they believe they can overcome the issue and are able to move on.
Anyone can acquire this mental state. All you have to do is choose to focus on the positives in your life and understand that you can get through the challenge.
Thriving in the Face of Adversity Video:
Giving up or being able to stay strong during periods of adversity is all about making a choice.
When you are experiencing setbacks, the obvious choice is throwing in the towel and telling all who cares to listen about your predicaments.
However, the good news is that you have another option.
You can choose to look at the brighter side and forge ahead. It is never over until you say so.
