I have been thinking a lot about adversity, not just the idea of overcoming adversity but particularly trying to gain a deep understanding of the adversity in my life and the big idea behind it all. Honestly speaking I wanted to understand “why me”, I was seeking a deep to the core understanding of my purpose, my gifts, my talents and how the adversity would help me become a bigger, brighter, better version of myself.
Through that thought process I came to the realization that the only reason I keep getting knocked down is because I keep getting back up – if I didn’t keep getting back up I wouldn’t still be getting knocked down. The problem, however, is that it’s not in my nature to stay down, so I keep getting back up and because of that I keep getting knocked down and getting back up a stronger, better, wiser person.
I think this speaks to the cyclicality of life, that you are not necessarily doing it wrong or right for that matter, if you find yourself having to deal with one roadblock after another, one jab after another and it feels like you are living to survive versus living to thrive. The fact of the matter is that everytime you get back up, you expose yourself to the possibility of getting knocked back down.
I am sure you are familiar with the popular saying, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” but in the words of Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory – “…there are many things that don’t kill you but can leave you weaker…”, be it emotionally, physically, mentally or financially. The truth however, is that “it” not killing you is not a matter of luck, chance or coincidence, it is a decision you make, you decide not to die, you choose not to let “it” kill you. When you decide to survive whatever tried killing you, you need to be aware of the fact that the blows that will come in future will be harder, faster and more painful than ever before and through it all you must remember that you have the power to overcome whatever you are going through by not letting it kill you, destroy you or turn you into someone you don’t want to be.
Don’t let your pain be in vain – in the words of Eric Thomas “you already in pain, use it to take you to the next level”. Find ways to use your pain as a never ending source of fuel in the journey of turning your dreams into reality.
Jeff Bezos once said “risk is a necessary component of progress”, and as I have journeyed through life discovering the truth of this statement I have come to understand that truthfully speaking pain and progress are 2 sides of the same coin and that you can’t have one without the other.
Now I am sure this is not the first time you have heard someone talk about the importance of using your pain to drive you forward, however what most people forget to mention is that there is a third piece between pain and progress, a piece that links the two together harmoniously. That third piece is purpose, because what gives your pain progress is purpose, without purpose your pain is in vain, it doesn’t serve you, or your community. Pain for the sake of pain is overrated and useless, don’t fool yourself into believing that the more pain you endure the more successful you’ll be in the end, that’s a highly inaccurate understanding of the power of your pain. In order to draw power from your pain, you must have purpose and that will unlock the progress – it is the purpose behind your pain that will pivot you to progress.
So with everything you do, every adversity you overcome ensure to have a purpose that goes beyond the “work in progress” that is the pain to the “end result” that is the progress. Keep in mind that there will always be something you or your timeline didn’t see coming (BREXIT, Trump, Steinhoff etc) and there is nothing more painful and hard hitting than a punch you didn’t see coming, but because it’s not in your nature to stay down, you keep getting back up and thus expose yourself to more jabs and uppercuts.
Through all the pain that will come your way, remember to stay true to your purpose because it is your blueprint, it will be your reason for getting back up again. When you lose your purpose, you lose your will to continue and your pain will overcome your progress. So in all that you do stay true to your purpose because the purpose behind your pain will pivot you to progress.