Transcending Adversity
When you have faced unexpected adversity, did it make you bitter or better?
Whether it was or is related to a health problem, career setback, relational implosion, financial crash, or spiritual disillusionment, my guess is that you have experienced or will experience both.
Bitter and better.
I haven’t met many people who didn’t spend at least a few hours or days grappling with the inevitable questions of why. Or, sometimes the adversity is in fact partially or primarily someone else’s fault and you are receiving the consequences. When you feel you’ve been lied to by an individual, a group, or a whole institution, you’re likely to experience some bitterness. You can probably identify the bitterness in your situation.
But, you don’t want to stay that way. The sooner you can move out of bitterness and into the future of betterment, well, the better off you’ll be.
I have met people who have turned their adversity, as bitter as it was, into a better day. And, I am always inspired by these brave souls. I have also met people who choose to wallow in their bitterness for years.
I love it when I see someone…
Turn a health condition into an opportunity to inspire others with the same condition,
or
Recalibrate their efforts and find career success,
or
Recover from relational betrayal and dare to love again,
or
Face their financial mess and clean it up,
or
Emerge from the spiritual dessert into a season of refreshment.
If you’re like me, it’s probably not so much bitter or better, but the challenge is more about moving quickly from bitter to better. You can do it! And as you do, you will be transcending adversity.
Worth Repeating
Well done is better than well said.
-Benjamin Franklin
