IN ADVERSITY, DO YOU BREAK OR BREAK RECORDS?

The other day I was reading a book and I came across this powerful quote.

“Adversity   causes some men to break, others to break records” _William Arthur Ward

William Arthur Ward hit the nail right on the head with this amazing quote. Everybody goes through difficult situations in life, from failing courses in school to financial problems, illnesses etc. something just happens. These things come, but what matters is the way we handle it. Adversity is like temptation, its everywhere but your true power lies in resisting it.

A lot of us do not know how to deal with issues and I’m not excluded. We fret over everything, even trivial things like when mobile network is bad, hello Adanna. Lol. The fact is that this is no issue to laugh about, many people are dealing with situations way worse than we could ever imagine and they still find a way to smile through it. I once read about a man, who had everything, his career was on the rise, when suddenly he was diagnosed with cancer. This man could have easily fallen into deep depression, and inadvertently became the most bitter man on earth, but he decided that he wouldn’t let it get to him. His mission became to help himself and other patients he had chemotherapy with, by making them laugh. He went for his treatments with comedy tapes which made them happy in what ordinarily should be a sad and depressing situation. This man beat cancer hands down, he is a WINNER. How many of us can do this? Now let us talk about our brothers and sisters in war torn countries, maybe we should just talk about the children in Northern Nigeria. These children do not know what it feels like to have a normal life, they have lost family, they have lost friends, and somehow they still manage to smile, while some of us sulk for days for something as little as losing our smart phone charger.

In recent years, we have seen a lot of people resort to suicide, drug abuse, hate crimes and even terrorism. This shows we are no strangers to dealing with tough situations. Any news different from what we expect to hear, we run into the warm embrace of alcohol and drugs or find a noose and die. Whatever happened to the tough situations do not last but tough people do, mentality?  We forget that some people were in the holocaust camps, some of the worst places any human being could ever be, but were still able to play and laugh.

All I am saying is that we should prepare our minds to deal with difficult situations. Bad things are bound to happen; our attitude towards them is what makes us winners or losers. I know it is not easy, but we need to break records rather than let adversity break us.  Let us have the “thorns have roses” mentality towards life and believe me, we will be record breakers. We must find the silver lining in the clouds.

The principles that aid in overcoming life’s obstacles are adaptability, magnanimity and perseverance. Teach yourself these principles, toughen up and remember that no matter what happens, the show must go on. The gem cannot be polished without friction.

Adversity often brings out the true spirit and character within people and leads them to make the noblest of choices. Permit me to end with the Igbo adage that says - mberede nyiri dike mana mberede ka a ji ama dike.

Adanna Elechi