Adversity

Adversity, hardship, and struggle are the training grounds for how we compete in life. I remember as a child wanting to quit the baseball team because I wasn't as good as some of the other players. Every time I dropped a fly ball, or booted a grounder I felt inadequate. I didn't handle adversity very well.

It wasn't till I had lived a while that I learned that adversity is the mental and moral equivilant of weight training, It gives you strength to deal with everything life can throw at you. This was the idea the philosopher Nietzsche was trying to get across when he said, "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger."

How we handle adversity says a lot about who we are and the level of success we will achieve in life. I have had my moments I wanted to give up, throw in the towel and bask in my own self-pity. I have felt beaten-down and defeated by life when a single ray of sunshine reminded me that their is so much to live for and fight for.

Which person are you? Are you the person who feels defeated when adversity comes, or do you welcome the challenge, engage the enemy and fight the good fight? You attitude and approach will determine your altitude in life.