Overcoming Adversity

The Key to Overcoming Adversity is Persistence 

Adversity is a fact of life. It cannot be controlled or avoided. 

What we can control is how we react and respond to adversity.

Adversity, of course, can be a powerful positive in creating personal growth and development. As motivational author Mike Dooley notes:

When there is ease and simplicity in your life, it is because earlier you learned a lot.

When there is resistance and obstacles in your life, it is because there is even more to learn.

And learning more is pretty much the main reason everyone is still here. 

Life is so full of unwanted and unexpected twists and turns, ups and downs, that it often seems like we spend the majority of our time reacting and trying to prevent or manage these things. However, you cannot manage the unexpected, so the best strategy is to be prepared to handle these situations as they arise with confidence in our own abilities and perseverance. This is what separates the ones who overcome adversity with those who allow others and circumstances control their fate. 

The latter live their lives defensively, trying to prevent bad things from happening to them and their loved ones. The smarter strategy is to live life knowing that you can overcome the bad things and life's little hurdles that will eventually happen.

The key to overcome adversity is persistence.

Commitment is dedication. Persistence is the determination to see something through to the end, not quitting when obstacles appear or the going gets rough. U.S. President Calvin Coolidge wrote in a letter that "Persistence and Determination are omnipotent." His thinking was not far removed from Benjamin Franklin's advice that "Energy and persistence conquer all things."

Adds W. J. Davison, "The life that conquers is the life that moves with a steady resolution and persistence toward a predetermined goal. Those who succeed are those who have thoroughly learned the immense importance of plan in life, and the tragic brevity of time."  

We often read of successful people who faced times and situations where they wanted to give up, chuck it all in and move onto something else. Yet something kept them going ─ a persistence driven by either an internal flame of commitment or an external source of motivation.

Those who accomplish their goals understand that, in the words of William Arthur Ward, "Impossibilities crumble in the crucible of persistence; difficulties disappear under the power of persistence."  

Take some time this weekend to think of ways to book your personal resistance and persistence for the hurdles and challenges you face. We will have some more thoughts and tips on overcoming adversity this weekend, so please return to the Project You Life Blog over the next few days. 

This article is partially excerpted from our top-selling personal development book Project You: Living A Determined Life. It is available in Kindle and paperback formats on Amazon.