Written by: Jane Turner, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Life is an unpredictable journey, and it’s a rare person who has never had to deal with adversity. Every so often life throws us a curve ball that seriously tests our strength and resilience. While it’s natural to feel overwhelmed or disheartened when adversity comes our way, the true measure of our character shows up in the way we respond to challenges.
I would go so far as to say that taking responsibility for dealing with adversity (rather than blaming others or our circumstances when things go wrong) is a fast track to personal growth and a more fulfilling life.
I had the privilege of working with Tracey Walker to bring her wonderful book “The Cards We’re Dealt That Transformed My Life” out into the world recently. Tracey overcame immense adversity and turned everything she learnt in the process into a business where she uses her skills as an advanced EFT and Matrix Reimprinting Practitioner to help others not only overcome adversity, but actually go on to thrive.
I’ve taken the following five strategies out of what I learnt through reading Tracey’s book to share with you here.
Acknowledge the circumstances: The way to get out the other end of challenges with more ease and our self-esteem intact is to acknowledge and take ownership of the reality of the situation we find ourselves in. Doing enables us to confront adversity head-on and go on to work through effective solutions that might or might not entail asking for help.
Shift our perspective: Adopting a positive mindset will make a world of difference to the way we come through tough times. Taking the perspective of tackling adversity head-on can be a catalyst for personal development. In this way setbacks carry within them an opportunity to shore up future success.
Manage our emotions: Emotions like frustration, anger, fear, and sadness are likely to rear their heads when we’re faced with adversity. It’s important to note that managing our emotions has nothing to do with denial. What it’s about is acknowledging them while not allowing them to consume us. This is important because being in an emotionally balanced state enables us to make rational decisions to get out of the difficult circumstances we find ourself in.
Develop a Resilient Mindset: Resilience is like a muscle in the sense that the more we exercise our ability to bounce back from adversity, the more resilient we will become. Seeing setbacks and failures as steppingstones to success, rather than being a blight on our reputation clears the way for us to approach challenges as opportunities to learn, adapt, and become stronger in the process of getting on with our life no matter what challenges come up from time to time.
Focus on Solutions and Take Action: Spending a lot more time seeking solutions than dwelling on problems is the way to get ahead in life. It’s about analysing the situation, identifying potential options, and developing an action plan. Taking this approach empowers us to regain control of our life. It will also reinforce our ability to overcome adversity moving forward.
The beauty of adversity is that it brings valuable lessons with it if we are willing to roll up our sleeves practically and figuratively. What I mean by that is that our courage, resilience and self-belief will increase every time we overcome a challenge by taking responsibility for solving it, rather than wallowing in a self-defeating state of blame, shame, or denial.
The key is to reflect on all of the experiences life throws up, and take the time to identify the insights and wisdom that comes out of the challenging experiences in particular. Then consider how we might apply what we’ve learnt in future to avoid similar problems or to navigate them more effectively.
You can access Tracey’s book and find out more about what she does, click here.
Jane Turner, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jane Turner is an Author Coach, a Publisher, and the author of four books including the best-selling "Mindset for Authors: How to Overcome Perfectionism, Procrastination, and Self-doubt". She not only helps aspiring authors to get their books written and published, but she also shows them how to build their profile and/or their business off the back of their book.
