Last week my friend Michael Robinson talked about success despite adversity on his Saturday’s radio show on microbin radio. Being intrigued by these words, I checked the online Cambridge Dictionary to find out the exact definition of both. So, according to it, success is the achievement of the results of something wanted or hoped for, or something that achieves positive results. Adversity is defined as a difficulty or an unlucky situation or event.

Given the example of ‘the road to happiness is paved with adversities,’ I am thinking that when it comes to working towards achieving a result, wanted or hoped for, any kind of adversity may act either as a barrier, or as a motivating factor to actual success. Everything can be a matter of reframing. On one hand, adversity can definitely invite someone to encounter a quitting zone, and make an excuse about it. On the other hand, adversity may challenge an individual to go for the extra mile, sensing that success will be even more rewarding. It may also motivate someone to invest in multiple tools and strategies in order to meet the end result. It may strengthen somebody’s resolve to find new ways of doing things.

In many cases, success requires resilience and perseverance, qualities that can be easily cultivated during adversity. It cannot be denied that adversity may involve an unpleasant situation, however, it can act as a contributing factor to success if reframed.

Like the German philosopher, Goethe, used to say ‘what you think you can do, or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, power, and grace within it’.

To your success,

Dimos

Dimos Kyritsis, MA, ACC.

Certified Professional Performance & Decision Coach
Youth Coach Global Associate coach.