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Responding Positively to Adversity

By Maria Rattray

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Published: 18Nov2009
Word count: 733
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"Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer." - Denis Waitley.

The above quote reminds us that life is not a bed of roses. Things can and will go wrong for us from time to time. Setbacks, obstacles in life, are an inescapable part of living, be they health, financial or spiritual issues. They make and shape our beings. They are the determiners of who we are. They are our greatest teacher if we are open to learning.

Now there is a tendency out there to believe that some people simply sail through life without ever being beset by adversity. But this is not so. Adversity does not discriminate. It strikes all of us at some time or other, no matter who we are or how important we have become.

At some time in our lives we have all suffered some form of adversity. At other times we have watched in the wings as friends and colleagues have faced and coped with, some serious situations or problems in their lives. Whatever has happened on our life journey, each and every one of us has developed into the people that we are by the ways in which we have met and dealt with the problems we have had to embrace.

Adversity is a powerful emotion. It has the power to destroy us completely, if we choose to allow it to do so. And to be fair, we often do succumb to its nastiness, for a while at least. However, if we lose faith, if we lose hope, if we cave into self-pity, then destroy us it will. However, the flip side of challenges is that they call on us to be strong, to grow, and more importantly to become better people.

Of course we could deal better with our obstacles if we could predict when they might strike. Predicting them could enable us to be so better prepared. Hopefully we would have that necessary courage to face them. Perhaps too we would endeavour to find the armory to defend ourselves against attack. But predict them we cannot, and so, sometimes trouble hits us like a bolt out of the blue and in so doing, can render us vulnerable

Dealing with adversity requires us to face the cause that brought it to our doorstep in the first place. Occasionally we beat ourselves up for allowing it to happen in the first place. We blame ourselves for resting on our laurels, for not being prepared, for not having seen it coming. We crucify ourselves by searching for something that we did that was wrong in our actions. This type of response is a simplistic one that often gives us a cheap answer.

The reason for the challenges that beset us is not necessarily important, but in order for us to be able to move forward and grow, we must first accept that they have happened. We have no magic wand. We cannot recapture time and fix them. We must accept what has happened, take control and look towards the future.

From here on it is necessary to live from your vision of what could happen for you. Develop a framework for your life plan. Do not dwell on the past. There is no looking back, no thinking that, if only this hadn't happened I could have done something else. It has happened. It's history.

But when you harness your energies and accept full responsibility for where you are, where you are heading, and what you hope to achieve, you can and will win. The result of this is that you will feel wonderfully empowered. Try to develop an optimism that says that soon things will become better. In all of this there is a demand that you manage your demons. Remember that the fear of what might happen in the future is often worse than the actuality. No one person can predict the future, so we have to be courageous and plan for optimum success. We have to be hopeful. We must be strong in the face of challenge. We must believe we can win.

With a suitable plan of action and a deep-seated belief in ourselves, we can triumph. And you know, on looking back, the view from the top of the hill won't seem so bad! To your success!

Maria Rattray invites you to embrace a lifestyle that affords time freedom. Work from home. Say goodbye to the endless traffic jams that have formed part of your working week. Work from anywhere in the world in fact. Work the hours that suit you. Interested? Then Join Me Here:=> www.freedompursuits.com.au

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