Let’s face it. Adversity stinks. It’s uncomfortable and it hurts worse than stepping on a lego at 2am as we creep to the kitchen in the middle of the night. Few things hurt worse than adversity and legos. Adversity. It doesn’t even sound good rolling off the tongue. But like it or not, adversity is good for us. It pushes, pulls and molds us into better versions of ourselves, revealing our truths to us along the way. Adversity is like the pressure that creates diamonds and pearls. And ladies, we are all diamonds and pearls!
No matter what season of life you are in, adversity will be along for the ride at some point, the passenger you didn’t invite, the one playing backseat driver. Here are 5 truths about adversity that we can hold onto when times are tough.
Reframing
When the going gets tough, the tough get going
Adversity allows us the opportunity to view stress as a challenge, not a threat. Often times we are fearful of these moments but if we can shift our mindset to that of viewing hard times as a challenge then we instantly reset our physical and mental well-being in a positive way. When we shift from threat to challenge, we become focused instead of fearful. We are less depressed and anxious, our hormones and heart rate stay in tact and we feel more in control of our situation. All good things ladies. All good things!
Course Correction
Speed is irrelevant if you are going in the wrong direction
Sometimes, if we are lucky, adversity reaches out to grab us and point us in the right direction. Course Correction. When Jesus sent the disciples off in a boat, he was actually sending them into a storm. (Mark 6:45) They didn’t know that, but God did. God always knows what’s ahead of us. And He’s always sovereign over the storm. But sometimes we are heading down the wrong path and we need a big blazing red sign in front of our faces to say hey “WRONG WAY! TURN AROUND!” Insert adversity.
Reflection
Mirror Mirror on the wall
It won’t always be beautiful and carved to perfection (like that Restoration Hardware version I’ve been eyeballing), but adversity is “life’s mirror”. Adversity creates a moment in time for us to reflect on ourselves. It invites us to look deeper into who we are, what we are doing, where we are going. It creates space to decide what we want in this life. What and who do we value most and what legacy will we leave? It is the mirror we need to be given from time to time so that we can take a good look and see what needs to be cleaned up.
Growth
Strong timber does not grow with ease, the strong the breeze the stronger the trees
Growing pains. Need we say more? Growth isn’t always pleasant but it’s always worth it. It hurts to grow a baby inside our bodies. It hurts to train for a marathon. Sometimes it hurts to touch our toes if we haven’t done so in a very long time. That’s me. I am we. But all moments of pain are worth it. Growth is always on the other side of adversity, waiting for you at the finish line. Studies show we increase our empathy, resiliency, and self-efficacy through hard times. Turning us into the diamonds and pearls that we are!
Community
Thank you for being a friend (insert Golden Girls theme song)
Speaking of those life skills. Resiliency is a great skill. It can make us feel we have mastery over life. But we all reach a breaking point in life. Adversity forces us to reach out for help, to realize we cannot and should not overcome our struggles on our own. Adversity makes us create social networks for support. We are not islands and when we try to be we can only survive for so long. Thanks adversity. You help us make friends. You help us realize people love and care about us. You help us not be alone.
If you or a loved one are going through tough times right now and would like additional support we are here for you and would love to help! For more information, please feel free to reach out to us to learn more about anxiety therapy services.
