How Moments of Adversity Are Your Greatest Opportunities

What if I told you that your most challenging moments in life were actually your greatest opportunities to learn and grow as a person? And what if I said that these hard times steeped in pain and adversity in fact held the greatest potential to transform your life for the better, and to bring you closer to your dreams and ambitions?

We all face both positive and negative experiences in our lives in diverse ways. We have no problem cherishing the positive moments that have directly brought us happiness or success. But what about the moments when we're struggling? These moments of adversity can either catapult us to new heights or beat us down continually, depending strictly on how we choose to interpret them and respond.

How Moments of Adversity Are Your Greatest Opportunities

I never lose. I either win or learn.

- Nelson Mandela

I view life as a continuous celebration of growth, and I intend this as a message to help us open our eyes and become aware of why things happen to us. It's essential that we learn to convert hard times into reflective moments, so we can find the lessons in every moment of adversity.

When negative moments occur, the feelings of pain, sadness or anger can contaminate the way we feel about everything in our lives. These emotions are perfectly natural and human, and it's both unavoidable and necessary that we all experience unhappy moments in our lives. But that doesn’t mean we have to linger on our sadness, and even less that we shouldn't learn from the inevitable adversity. We should be grateful for these “dreadful” moments, because they provide us with clarity.

Think about it. Our lives are journeys, and every single day we have the opportunity to learn and improve ourselves on the road to achieving our goals. That’s the power within each and every one of us. But if we allow those hard times to alter our course, we will never reach our full potential.

The following three steps can help you develop the constructive mindset to help you confront moments of adversity with a more positive outlook.

Analyze

The first step is to take a look back to see what caused the negative experience, and to analyze what occurred at that moment to make you feel how you did. Keep asking why, and be realistic with yourself. Think about all of the various factors at play: How were you feeling? What could or couldn't you control in that situation? You don't want to over-analyze every little misfortune in life that happens to you, but you should analyze and learn from those negative experiences that affect your mindset in a deeper way. If you can harness the power of self-awareness and self-analysis, you’re well on your way to conquering crummy circumstances and converting them to constructive life lessons.

A & A: Acknowledge and alter your attitude and thoughts

Acknowledge those negative emotions that you harbored in that moment. Sure, maybe a situation didn’t go as planned, you didn’t get that promotion you’ve been waiting for, a girlfriend/boyfriend dumped you, etc. But do not dwell.

After analyzing what led up to that specific occurrence, gain strength and encouragement in the fact that you have learned something from it. Be energized from it. You’re smarter, more experienced, and wiser as a result of what happened. Life goes on, always. Keep thinking about the fact that you’ve emerged better as a result of having traversed the hard times, identified the opportunity for growth, and come out the other side. You’ve learned something about yourself that you wouldn’t have known otherwise, and you'll be more resilient the next time adversity comes knocking.

Our attitude and mindset define how our lives unfold, whether we realize it or not. It shapes how others interact with us, the energy we give off, and most importantly how we see and respond to events and experiences in our lives. I promise that with time and attention, developing a positive mindset focused on continuous learning and growth will pay dividends. The only person that can enhance your mindset is you, but once you do, you will be an unstoppable force. Within every defeat you will find the opportunity for a greater victory down the line, and nobody will be able to shake you from your upward path.

Reinforce

To gain real lasting mental strength, we must continue to reinforce what we’ve learned. I see so many people that make great gains, only to let setbacks drag them backward and wipe out everything they’ve accomplished.

Constantly reinforce what you’ve learned and how far your mind has come, and continue improving and growing every day. You’ll soon fall in love with the process of becoming the best version of yourself.