This Is How Adversity Can Improve The Way You Think

It’s hard to make sense of the world right now; we’re in the middle of a pandemic, racial strife, and a political divide in America that looks more like Dante’s version of hell every day.   

We’re bombarded with social media, camera phones, and a 24/7 news cycle. We’ve relied on our “feel-good at all cost” philosophy for so long that we no longer even know how to process the negative events that we’ve experienced in a helpful way. 

Current events have left us humbled and uprooted from our routine. Nothing seems certain anymore. As the  great philosopher Socrates would say, “Well, it’s about time.” Socrates knew a little about adversity—he lived during the fall of Athens as a world power and the bubonic plague.

Determined to seek out opportunity during troubled times, Socrates talked to the great thinkers of his day and soon discovered they weren’t as smart as they thought they were. Instead, he found people who didn’t know the things they didn’t know. Sounds like most of our modern-day politicians. 

Our immediate response to today’s events is something like: “When things return to normal…” The thing is, now is the perfect time to redefine what is normal. Do we really want everything to return to what it was before? Or do we want something better, both for ourselves and our community? Now is the time to imagine a future that is kinder and more supportive of the sick, powerless, and disenfranchised.

Today’s “pause” gives us time to think about exactly what we need in life. It’s no wonder that many of history’s greatest thinkers were the product of pandemics, social unrest, and economic turmoil. This is how wisdom takes root because we finally take the time to question assumptions about ourselves and the life we lead.

Adversity improves the way you think because the perspective you gain is an honestly earned wisdom, something produced from deep within your soul. You give yourself permission to explore all the “givens” in your life. You can take a step back to see yourself with more clarity. 

This is how adversity can improve the way you think:

1. Find The Philosopher Within

At some point in life we will need to answer these questions:

• What is true?
• How should I live my life based on what I believe to be true? 

If you’re unable to ask or answer these questions, you’ll never be content with your life because you’re a shallow person. You don’t know what you don’t know, which means you’re easy prey for wack-job therapists and expensive “redesign your life” manuals.

Once you begin to question the significance and veracity of what you believe, you begin to understand that much of what you believe about yourself and the world was formed by the people around you—not you.

In the same way, you must step back and question the values by which you live and make decisions. Chances are good that your values were heavily influenced by your family and community. News flash: every family has some sort of dysfunction and every society has its flaws. We improve the way we think when we examine the values and beliefs to which we have clung over the years. We may discover they are no longer helping us and may even hinder our efforts to move forward.

Our current crisis gives us an opportunity to know ourselves and connect with the essence of who we are. Lao Tzu said it well: “Knowing others is knowledge, knowing yourself is wisdom.”

These days front-line workers like nurses, doctors, and law enforcement are faced with adversity every day. They’ve chosen noble careers and yet the constant onslaught of demanding hours and criticism by those who haven’t set foot in the arena has left many feeling defeated by their adversity. 

All of us need mental toughness to help direct our actions so we can live in accordance with what we believe to be true. We need mental strength to define our values and determine whether we’re living our lives based on those values. This is when we create a life with purpose and meaning.

Are you mentally tough? Here is my FREE 45-Question Mental Toughness Assessment.

How To Make It Work For You: Socrates once again pops up. He said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Your relationship with yourself will always be the most relevant in terms of providing a guiding light for your actions and behavior. Like the minimalist Marie Kondo, strip away all that is not essential. Take the time to choose what matters.

2. Look For The Opportunity In Every Crisis

The Chinese characters for crisis and change point are the same. Western popular culture prefers to interpret a change point as an opportunity, but the idea is much the same—crises are often opportunities because they are the point at which we pivot and change direction.

Our frantic and goal-driven life pushes us to set big hairy goals and work ourselves senseless to make it all happen so we can buy bigger cars, wear expensive clothes, and experience fantastic vacations. Those things are not necessarily bad, but they often came at the expense of something just as important—the desire to nourish and refuel ourselves. 

Often the crack in our protected world that’s created by adversity is just what is needed to let the light in. A friend of mine lost her job in finance and hasn’t had luck in finding a new one. When pressed, she admits she finds it hard to focus and blames COVID for her lack of enthusiasm. As I listened to her, it became obvious that she wasn’t really interested in jumping back into the same old type of job. This was an opportunity to change direction in her career and while it wasn’t fun to be sacked, it created a crack just big enough to let the light in. 

How To Make It Work For You: Steve Jobs was famous for being dismissive of phrases like, “It can’t be done.” Create the same mindset and have faith in your ability to make something where nothing existed before. Don’t allow yourself to become depressed or angry. Tears and rants might have worked at home, but you’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy; instead, use your circumstances to stoke your energy.

3. Take A Lesson From The Stoics

Stoic philosophy is neatly summed up by the former slave turned teacher Epictetus: “What upsets people is not things themselves but their judgments about things.”

A good Stoic would anticipate every possible adversity that could befall them. A Stoic philosopher named Seneca encouraged the Romans to “rehearse your adversity in your mind: exile, torture, war, shipwreck.” Before you dismiss the Stoics as a bunch of masochists, remember that once you’re prepared for what is ahead of you, the better you’re able to overcome the obstacle. 

Your list might look a bit different than Seneca’s—perhaps it’s a job loss, unpaid bills, divorce, or ill-health. But the idea is the same: when you prepare for adversity, you diminish its bite when it happens. As a result, you’ll land on your feet because you’ve already thought about how to respond if something goes wrong. You have contingency plans in place. It’s easier to pivot and move in another direction with fluidity—and with peace of mind because the adversity hasn’t made a mockery of your vision for your future.

How To Make It Work For You: Start your week by anticipating how obstacles could derail your plan. Prioritize their likelihood. Each day revisit this list and write a one-sentence foil to the obstacle. By the end of the week, you’ll feel more confident that you can respond with alacrity, no matter what happens. 

4. Hunt The Good Stuff

There’s a reason the 24/7 news cycle is filled with negative stuff—bad news gets our attention faster than good information. That’s because the small but powerful limbic brain controls our emotions. This little pea brain gets excited when it thinks it needs to protect us from a saber-toothed tiger. While society has evolved,  the limbic brain is still stuck in Cave Man days and interprets bad news as a potential threat to our safety. 

Researchers have discovered that it takes 5 positive bits of information to overcome the impact of 1 negative bit. As Rick Hanson says, “Negative information is like velcro, it sticks; positive information is like Teflon, it slides away.” 

The ratio of 5:1 means we really do have the hunt for the good stuff. So, while it’s a good idea to prepare for all that could go south in our plans, we also need to take the time to appreciate the good things in our life.

How To Make It Work For You: 

• Counter each negative thought with five positive ones. 
• Savor those positive thoughts, hold them for 20 seconds so they soak into your subconscious. 
• Call your negative emotion by name. When you accurately identify and describe your discomfort, you lessen the power of the fear associated with it.
• But, limit your description of your fear to one or two words. Don’t engage in a soliloquy because it will only heighten your response.
• Hang around people who will help you move forward, not remind you of the past and keep you in a rut.

Related: 4 Practical Ways To Grow From Your Pain And Suffering