I Can Overcome Adversity!

How do you deal with hardship? How do you deal with trials? What do you do when you are in the midst of them? Do you sit and complain, do you look for a way out, do you think about the past and regret something that you did to get you to this point, do you sit and pray that things will get better, or do you wish your life away hoping it will get better? Everyone deals with their problems and trials differently, but you can train your mind to overcome with strength and power!

We have to train our minds to be able to do hard things, to overcome adversity. This is something that you should repeat to yourself everyday regardless of your stage in life; no one is immune from difficulty or strife. Whether you are an athlete going through practice and game situations, a student, a newlywed, a new parent, starting a new job.... everyone needs to develop this skill because everyone will come across trials in their life. We have to tell ourselves that we are capable of handling difficult times and that we can get through it no matter what. When we are in the midst of a trial or difficult situation we have to continue to coach ourselves and tell ourselves that we can do it. Then, you take things one day at a time. "I can make it through today, I got this" or "I can make it through the next hour, I can do hard things".

I feel like another important aspect is figuring out what helps to strengthen yourself in time of difficulty. Is it spending time with family or kids, is it putting on some headphones and listening to music, going for a walk, praying, reading, working out, or something else? Along with strengthening your mental capacity it is important to find things that can help you and relieve stress. You may not be able to control the circumstance, but you can control your attitude and how you respond. Sometimes the best response is just "OK, I'm going to get through this" and you just push through one hour, one day, one week at a time. You look for ways to stay positive and you continue to tell yourself that you can overcome adversity, that you can do hard things, and that you've got this!

The more we coach ourselves on a daily basis, especially when we are not currently experiencing trials, the better our capacity to handle it will be. Visualize your response to difficult situations and how you will act. How will you control your attitude, how will you control your response? Those two things will be instrumental in getting through to the other side, to wading through those difficult times. Now, I recognize that not all trials are created equal, but the message is the same. How will you respond when difficult situations come your way? You will tell yourself that you've got this, that you're going to get through it, and that you will never give up! Control what you can control!