Adversity can take place in any aspect of one's life. Adversity can be part of someone’s career, home life, financial circumstances, education, health, and more. Oftentimes, adversity can feel all-consuming - if there is a struggle in one area, there is a struggle in other areas. These moments define and transform a person. How one chooses to handle life during a period of adversity shows their mindset, character, and true nature.
Today, you will learn the signs of adversity, how adversity both defines and transforms an individual and strategies to push through. This read is for anyone who has faced or is currently facing adversity. I encourage you to share your strategies to overcome adversity in the comments for others to learn.
As a reminder that everyone goes through adversity, below is a by Elizabeth Kao in “How Tough Times Shape Good Leaders”,
"Everybody has their own wall to climb."
In the article, the author emphasizes, “One of the key differences between leaders and nonleaders, we found, is the ability of leaders to transmogrify even the negatives in their lives into something that serves them. For leaders, the uses of adversity are genuinely sweet.”
The first question is, how can one tell they are facing adversity? One may ask themselves, am I being pessimistic or am I truly facing adversity? As described in an article on trauma, “indicators of adversity included: feelings of uncertainty, change, loss of control, being on your own, and not knowing what is happening.”
In 2023, there are many reasons to feel this way. Many in the tech industry are facing uncertainty due to mass layoffs. The media constantly questions an upcoming recession. Global wars continue.
Adversity is defined as “a state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune”. One must understand: The continuing feeling of uncertainty, change, or struggle is prevalent among professionals. People simply don’t talk about this.
People can respond to adversity in different ways. One's response to adversity may involve ebbs and flows. At first, one may feel defeated and down. Then, one may find a sense of empowerment and identify areas of opportunity. There may be a fluctuation from one feeling to the other over time. This is a common reaction.
For others, one may simply take control and not think twice. Others may fall into depression and give up.
All of these are normal reactions however, the response and the action over time reveal ones truth. Is the person quitting on themselves? Are they no longer showing up? Or is the person consistently preserving even if feeling down? Is the person choosing resiliency? Is there a decision to move forward?
“To my mind, resilience is a process to harness resources to sustain well-being” Dr. Catherine Panter-Brick (Panter-Brick & Leckman, Citation 2013).
The long-term response to adversity is what defines a person. There is only one life to live so choose resiliency. It is essential to make the most of the circumstances.
So how does one push through adversity to come out on the other side?
1) You have a choice and must reflect - to be a victim or to take control. You can allow yourself to sit in the feels for a short period however, you must quickly determine what is in your control and go all in. Who do you want to be?
2) Be social - Research has shown there is a need for social connection “to take away the distress of the situation”. Helping others, showing empathy, simply being around others helps.
3) Create normalcy - “When people are experiencing adversity, helping them connect to aspects of their world that have not changed may provide a sense of control or anchoring” (source)
4) Ask the following questions to shift the perspective:
Where do I have control/influence/leverage in the situation?
What is a specific action step I can take?
What are my strengths?
What resources do I have?
What allows me to know that I can handle this?
In summary, one may be facing adversity if there are constant feelings of uncertainty, change, loss of control, and isolation. The response to adversity is what shows one's true nature: are they choosing resiliency or giving up? Lastly, one can overcome resiliency by making the right choices, being social, creating normalcy, and asking key questions.
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On a final note, I found this one quote from my research that stood out and would like to share it with you. I appreciate the description of “uncontaminated wonder”, probably because I feel this mindset and love this description.
"The capacity for "uncontaminated wonder," ultimately, is what distinguishes the successful from the ordinary, the happily engaged players of whatever era from the chronically disappointed and malcontent. Therein lies a lesson for geeks, geezers, and the sea of people who fall in between." How Tough Times Shape Good Leaders
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