One of the biggest issues you’ll encounter in life is facing adversity. It’s not a matter of if, but when, that will happen. Problems of all sizes will come into your life at one time or another.
And that’s good!
Facing adversity and overcoming it the best way you can builds character and resilience. And these are qualities you can use in every part of your life. Every challenge and difficulty you face and handle will increase your confidence, your will, and your ability to deal with other challenges that come along.
Facing adversity will bring out qualities and strengths from down deep inside you that might have stayed there otherwise.
Certainly, it’s easy to fall into the trap of questioning, “Why me?” when these things happen. You’re only human, after all. And no one wants to be placed in a position where what appear to be great difficulties run through your life like a locomotive on steroids.
But if you avoid facing adversity, you’re also avoiding the opportunities for wisdom and growth that come with it. One of the keys to facing adversity is to release those self-defeating thoughts and use your ability to think and deal with the situation in front of you.
You have to understand and accept that adversity is part of life. It’s inevitable. Denying it or trying to avoid facing adversity simply increases its likelihood.
So, what do you do?
Build your resources. Both internal and external. Starting now, work on building your emotional strength, develop courage, and increase your discipline. All of these will help you in facing adversity.
Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Most of the time, once you’re prepared for the worst, whatever comes will be less difficult to handle.
Develop your faith. Faith in a Supreme Being, in yourself, in your ability to handle whatever life sends your way. Start small and build up from there.
Build external resources. Cultivate lasting and strong relationships with other people. Choose the people carefully and make sure they’re the kind that will last with you when you’re facing adversity.
Learn from those who are already successful in facing adversity. Read about people who have dealt with very serious situations and have come out better on the other side. Talk to people you know who have done this same thing. See what they did not just to survive but to emerge from these difficulties as better and stronger people.
Getting involved in martial arts training is a great way to build this kind of resilience and increase your self-confidence. Shifu Raymond Ahles at Blue Dragon School of Martial Arts is ready and able to help you in learning to be more resilient and in building your self-confidence through martial arts. He will monitor your training and sparring and make suggestions when he sees some area in which you may be lacking. Contact him at 201-385-3130 today and get started or started again!
