Rising Above Adversity
By: Sidney McCourt
Rough Draft
Adversity is a part of life. Everybody has hard times. So why do some individuals overcome while others don’t? It’s all about the way you choose to handle the adversity. When something bad happens like an injury or loss of a loved one, it can make you feel like there is no end to your problems. You feel like there is no way out. But adversity can be a lesson. If you have lost a loved one you come to appreciate the people you have in your life, and spend more time with them.
Sometimes misfortune can come to you because you need to change. For example, there is a movie about a man who led a life of crime. He had never planned on seriously injuring anyone but he accidentally hits a boy with his car and kills him. He is sent to jail. Where he finds God and turns his life around. Instead of coming up with excuses or sulking, he completely turned his life around. It’s a perfect example of overcoming adversity. There were probably reasons he was the way he was. But instead of dwelling on them, he went to church and became a better person.
My dad would also be a good example of overcoming adversity. He grew up in a very abusive home, physically and verbally. He was given no money, or even a ride to leave for college. But even with all the damage his family had caused him he still managed to make a good life for himself. He is now very successful and a very good father. He is this way because he is determined. He could have given up because of how hard it was and just blamed all his problems on his parents, but he didn’t. He pushed through and made his life better. He has three siblings who did just that though, made terrible decisions and blamed their family, and none of them have a good life because they chose to dwell on the adversity instead of pushing through. Even though the abuse was hard to deal my dad still manage to overcome all of it, because he knew what he wanted and he had the determination to do it.
Adversity is unavoidable. It’s better to just accept it than fight it. You can control your attitude about it.
“Recognize misfortune for what it is: an opportunity to lift yourself to a higher level. Sailors caught in a storm should pray not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear. Why should they accept the storm? Because a smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.” – Chuck Gallozzi
A great way to deal with adversity is to remind yourself that it could be much worse. Whenever I’m down I have to remind myself how little my problems are compared to a lot of other peoples. Like whenever I’m mad at my parents I think about how terrible my dads’ parents were to him and how lucky I am. No matter what the problem it could always be worse. Don’t let adversity control you. Have hope, believe in yourself. Have a deep seated notation that “I am a good person. What happened to me is not right or fair, but I can’t let this define me or my life.” So in conclusion, there is no avoiding adversity. Everyone has problems, some bigger than others. But everyone can learn and grow from adversity. It’s all about attitude.
