Facing Adversity

We all go through difficult times throughout our lives. Facing adversity is more than a desire or a purpose, it is a need, an obligation to integrate in the mind and heart. Now, if there is one thing we all know, it is that applying this approach and deploying adequate resources for change is not always easy.

The difficulties that we find ourselves in one or other moments of our lives such as the loss of a loved one, a love breakup or the bad news of a dismissal can drown us in an ocean of discomfort. Whether we want it or not, no one is immune from adversity. None of us are safe from the ups and downs of fate, good and bad.

It is in these moments of adversity when we go through very powerful emotions such as sadness, helplessness, frustration, etc … Now, there is an interesting fact that is worth taking into account.

In a study carried out by psychologists Linley, PA, and Joseph, S. from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom, it was shown that people capable of facing difficult times, acquire valuable learning to face the future with better resources.

Express our emotions to face adversity

When adversity decides to hit us and we experience those powerful emotions, it is beneficial to express what we feel. We can do it with a family member or friend, or through writing, to become more and more conscious and to be able to unburden those emotional knots.

• If we put words to how we feel, it will be easier for us to channel pressures, fears, and anguish. In this way, we can associate our thoughts with feelings quickly and almost simultaneously.
• Therefore, when our emotions are too negative, we can use writing as a means to express them, getting rid of them without having external repercussions.

Creativity as a channel to release emotions

Experts on the subject such as Scott Barry Kaufman, author of the book Connected to Create , explains that making use of creativity is an ideal mechanism to release emotions. 

Any adverse situation can be seen as an interruption in our life trajectory, but if we relate it and express it, we will be closer to the possibility of accepting it and moving forward.

Even if we have difficulties when it comes to writing, we can also use other types of activities such as painting, dancing, sports or theater … All these types of art are channels to be able to control and elaborate what we feel.

After this, we can start up our own problem-solving mechanism, where we can use our own resources to move forward and make way before the difficulty that is presented to us.

The importance of recognizing pain to face adversity

Faced with a difficult situation, there are times when it is difficult for us to accept that it is affecting us. All of this sets up walls when it comes to facing adversity. If we refuse to acknowledge what hurts we do not advance. In some way, we are forced to understand that pain is part of the recovery process. Accepting it, integrating it, breaking it down and channeling it is part of every therapeutic process.

You are not guilty

In these situations, the people around us may be able to try with the best of their intentions to make us feel good again as quickly as possible. Now this can have the opposite effect.

• When it comes to facing adversity, people tend to drag a certain sense of guilt and that is something from which we must free ourselves.
• We all need our assimilation and elaboration time, some more extensive than others, the important thing is to respect it, and not accelerate or postpone it, but maintain a certain balance.
• It is like going through a process of grief or loss, since it takes a necessary period of emotional adjustment, going through a series of stages.

Trust yourself, be resilient and clarify purposes

Viktor Frankl explained to us in his book Man’s Search for Meaning that people have a great capacity to overcome. He himself overcame the loss of his family during World War II in the concentration camps.

Purposes must be clarified, give meaning to life. Each test passed will strengthen us. And although difficulties or adversities show us our most vulnerable parts, overcoming them will help us move forward with more security and confidence.

Let’s think about it. Let’s learn to be resilient, ignite that inner strength to face adversity with success and wisdom.