5/14/2007

Moving Beyond the Challenge - Dealing with Adversity

Life presents us with challenges. A simple but true reality. The obvious question is why some people deal with adversity or challenges, better than others, why some people conquer challenges and others just woefully submit to them, only to wait for the next challenge to come.

Is there something underlying here, something that some people have that others do not that allows them to deal with challenges better?

How do you handle your challenges? Do you balk in the face of them or do you move through them like a Sherman Tank? Do you relive them over and over or do you forget them once they are resolved? Do they energize you or suck the life out of you? Are you grateful for them or devastated by them? These are important questions you should evaluate for yourself.

As an avid student of personal development and personal responsibility, I have learned one thing above all else. The spiritual and environmental laws, not legalistic laws that govern us on this earth bring us challenges. Many times, we create these challenges simply from the drama we crave or desire without understanding we are doing it to ourselves.

Sometimes they are major, other times they are minor, the key though is how we deal with them. The Law of Attraction is very simple, you attract into your life what you think about, talk about and expect, or in other words “what you think about will come about”.

Any situation you have in your life, good or bad, is there because you attracted it. There is a reason why you have adversity and challenges always coming up in your life. And certainly, if you see to constantly confront challenges, you are without knowing, asking for them in your life.

Any situation you have in your life is the result of choices you have made and what you expect to happen. Have you ever had something happen and find yourself saying “see, I knew that was going to happen”? Take a few minutes to look at your challenge. Walk though the events leading up to it and identify the choices you made that might have created it. Write down those choices. Once you have done this, go through the list one by one and strike them out, writing out what choice you could have made instead that would have given you a different outcome.

Say to yourself “This is my problem and I am going to correct it.” Attitude is everything when it comes to getting through a challenge.

Talk with someone who is very positive and supportive. You should never mentor with people who feed your problems. If the person you are listening to does not offer solutions and hold you accountable with positive support, find someone else to mentor you.

Embrace the opportunity to change the root of your problem. All problems are a result of the direction you are moving. Evaluate your direction and regroup if necessary.

Consciously make an effort to change your belief system. Get involved in a good personal development program and work on the paradigms that drive your beliefs.

Take control of your feelings. If you get emotionally involved with a problem, it will consume you and seem much bigger than it really is. Approach it without fear. You have total control over how you feel, choose to not feel fear.

Look only at the things that can go right, never look at what can go wrong. This will provide you with positive feelings, therefore having a positive effect on what you are attracting.

Set some major goals. If you are not working with a goal system, you should incorporate one immediately. By keeping your eyes on your goals, you will go right through adversities as a minor diversion and they will never consume you.

Your goals should always be much bigger than your situation. If your goals are not big enough to get you through adversity, you should change your goals. Your goals should be big enough to get you very excited.

Create your own outcome. By visualizing, or creating a movie in your mind, of how you want things to play out and staying tuned into this movie, you will be able to overcome anything.

Be grateful for the challenge. A challenge is an opportunity for you to improve your beliefs, your goals, your optimism and your self esteem.

Once you have overcome a challenge, you will look at it from a new direction, seeing it for what it really is, a diversion. Always keep things in perspective. Therefore, when the next challenge comes, you will move confidently closer to your actual goal.

Problems, adversities or challenges should never stop you from moving toward your goals. They may sometimes provide a slight diversion, but if your belief system and your desires are strong enough, they will never change your outcome. Always have faith you are moving in the right direction.

Keep in mind that fear and faith are the same thing, believing in something you can not see. However, one will destroy you and the other opens the door to endless possibilities. It is entirely your choice.

To your success,