Courage In Times Of Adversity

Adversity is another means to discover your capability. It introduces you to your real you, and then, bring out the best in you. Adversity serves as a barometer to measure the greatness in an individual. The real you manifests itself in times of adversity. Your ability to continue or withdraw from the race of life is normally tested at times when faced with fiery trials of life. According to the popular Proverbs 24:10, “If you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small.” As the saying goes, “quitters never win, and winners never quit.” The potential in you surfaces at times of adversity if only you don’t give up. David would not have summoned the courage to fight Goliath, if he had initially run from the lion which attacked his sheep while as a shepherd boy. By the time David faced Goliath, he realized he had the potential in him to defeat the giant because he had earlier encountered a lion and he conquered. Alfred D. Souza said, “Problems are the price of progress. The obstacles of life are intended to make us better, not bitter. Adversity has advantages.” And one such advantage is that adversity helps an individual to unleash the potential within. Will adversity come on the way to fulfilling your destiny? Emphatically YES! In fact, there will be many of them. You cannot avoid adversity. It holds no regard for the rich or poor, gender, name it. Adversity is part of life. You see, the adversity is not the problem but how you deal with it is what matters. In other words, it is not the circumstance but your reaction to the circumstance. Adversity can make or unmake you depending on how you handle it. There will be moments of discomfort in your life. The greatest gift your heavenly creator can offer you is to push you into a temporary crisis that requires you to try your wings. Let me give an illustration using the eagle. An eagle is a special creature that can look at the sun and fly towards it without blinking an eye. The best of an eagle is displayed during a crisis situation. It soars with the storm. There is something the mother eagle does to the eaglets at their tender age. As the young eaglets grow, the mother eagle begins to destroy the nest holding the eaglets, thereby causing discomfort to them. It does it little by little and for a purpose. A time comes when the nest is totally destroyed, forcing the eaglets to fly. Hear this; an eagle that does not fly cannot fulfill its purpose. Likewise, your life will lack meaning until you find your bearing and discover your wings. One of such way of discovering your wings is through adversity. We are designed to conquer our environment, solve problems, and achieve goals. We will find no real satisfaction in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve. Harry Emerson said, “He who knows no hardship will know no power of endurance; He who faces no calamity will need no courage; mysterious though it is, the characteristics in human nature which we love best grow in a soil with a strong mixture of troubles.” That reminds us of Thomas Edison, one of the most prolific inventors, who laid the foundation for the Fortune 500 Company, General Electric. Edison is remembered, not only for his inventive genius, but also for his high propensity toward failure. When asked about what kept him going in life despite his setbacks, he replied: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to keep trying." Your setback is meant to be a comeback. Tough times don’t last but tough people do. Pick yourself up and keep moving on. As Richard Nixon said, “A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.”rnWhat we can take from success stories like Thomas Edison is that the path to success has many milestones--some are positive and productive, and some are setbacks. It’s not what we lose from the setbacks, but rather what we learn and apply that make the future a success. According to George Bernard Shaw, an Irish dramatist and socialist, “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.” In the journey to manifest your potential there will be plenty setbacks but never give up. Donald J. Trump, the famous American entrepreneur, wrote: “The way we handle difficult situations in life says a lot about who we are. How we view them is also an important element in how we will deal with adversity. Some events will wipe out one person, but will make another person even more tenacious. That’s why I always ask myself: Is this a blip, or is it a catastrophe? The question helps me to focus in the midst of bad news.” Let every stumbling block you encounter become a stepping stone. Whenever you encounter any obstacle, just sit back with courage because it’s another opportunity for you to step higher in life. In fact, it makes you discover things about yourself that you never knew. You also find out what you believe. Challenges make you stretch. They make you go beyond the norm. The adversities you meet on your way to success are meant to bring out a champion out of you. So see the other side of adversity. As Martin Luther King declared, “The ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy.” Remember, you are like a tea bag, not worth much until you have been through some hot water. See every adversity as an opportunity to bring out the best in you. Click the link below to buy some of my latest books from my online store: > Ten (10) C's of Personal Power. > Unleashing Your Potential.rnhttp://www.elvisukpaka.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=50 Click the link below to download my FREE latest e-Book titled: "The Motivational Devotion" A 365 days inspirational quotes to keep you motivated all year round. http://www.elvisukpaka.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83&Itemid=67 You may also want to join "Elvis Leadership Forum" on Facebook, (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=261942700222) where we discuss interesting topics on Leadership Like: What is Leadership?rnIs it better to Lead than to manage?rnAre Leaders Born or Made?rnDo you consider yourself a leader or a follower?