Maintaining Hope In Adversity

When you’re faced with adversity, do you feel hopeful? Sometimes it’s difficult to find hope in adversity and that’s a fact. 

You and I both know that life isn’t always sunshine and butterflies. Proof of that? Take a look around you, it’s plain to see that we’re living in unsettling times. 

Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tsunamis of great magnitude are now regular occurrences in our world. You see natural disasters happening everywhere on a regular basis. Some of them seem so bizarre that it’s mind-boggling. 

If you thought your position at work was secure, think again. Things can change at a moment’s notice. 

Not only that, nowadays we, human beings give every indication of being heartless rather than considerate and compassionate.

It can be so easy to get carried away by an endless cycle of negativity due lack of self-confidence, worry and uncertainty.

What Does Facing Adversity Mean?

When you’re facing adversity, it means that you’ve come up against or being confronted by very tough situations or hardships. 

It’s a point in your life when it seems like all the odds are stacked against you and you have nowhere to turn but your only option is to face this calamity head-on.

What Are Some Examples Of Adversity?

As you can well imagine there are so many types of different types of adversities. Included below are just a few and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

• Physical Impairment – You might have a physical impairment such as getting in a car accident and ending up being paralyzed.

• Career Hardships – Perhaps on your job, you probably have difficulty dealing with a particular coworker, your immediate supervisor or your boss.

• Health Crisis – The possibility exists that you or your loved ones are facing a health crisis including anxiety and depression.

• Social Engagement – Having challenges in terms of engaging and connecting with other people so there’s either unavoidable conflict or total withdrawal from other people.

• Financial Hardships – A common adversity is financial hardship. That is, you being unable to provide for yourself and your family the kind of lifestyle you want.

• Environmental Catastrophe – This is something that’s completely out of your control. At the same time, disasters can be so traumatizing. Earthquakes, typhoons, hurricanes, and flooding, just to name a few can be so devastating.

• Emotional Trauma – The death of a family member or friend can cause emotional distress. A relationship falling apart or even a health crisis can lead to serious suffering and emotional setback.

Maintaining Hope In Adversity

When you maintain hope in the face of adversity it’s because you want the end result to make your life better in one way or another.

It really does help to make current hardships more tolerable. Here are some ways to help you maintain hope in really difficult times.

1. Mental Readiness

When you’re facing a setback or any type of distress, it’s crucial that you’re in the right headspace so that you recognize and accept what the situation is and tackle it head-on. 

For me, prayer is what motivates me and puts me in the right frame of mind. The sooner you start to deal with it by taking action, the better it is for you.

There’s no need for a blame game, instead, try to identify the main source of the problem and concentrate on figuring out a solution. You put one foot in front of the other and your nose to the grindstone find a solution and work towards making it a reality.

2. Learn From Past Experiences

It doesn’t matter how ugly or traumatic the situations in your past, you’ve made it through, right? Even if you’ve come out with scars that have taken time to heal you’re still better for it. 

It has made you stronger and more self-confident.  When you think back on what you’ve been through in the past, it brings home the point that you’ve been through hardships before and you came out on top. 

Lessons learned from experiences in the past will be a valuable reminder that you do have the inner strength and endurance to get through this.

3. Adversities Provide Opportunities

Adversities might seem like they want to drag you down but it’s not like that at all, it’s just a matter of your perspective. It allows you to look at your experiences and learn important life lessons.

It also gives you a chance for some soul searching. This allows you to see where your head is and gives you an opportunity to learn more about yourself and provides room for much-needed growth and resilience.

On top of that, it can also help to build stronger bonds with your friends and family.

4. Refuse To Give Up

It can be so easy to get tied up in a race to the bottom of doubt and sadness when you’re faced with life’s trials. During these low moments, the actions you take will make a world of difference to your outcome. 

Learn to adapt and power through tough times. Make a promise to yourself that you’re going to get through this and keep fighting with hope at the forefront of your mind. As the saying goes “When life gives you lemons make lemonade.”

5. Keep A Positive Mindset

It can be really hard to keep a positive mindset when you are experiencing major setbacks.  Keeping hope alive is one of the key ingredients that will effectively help you to confront and manage these traumatic situations.

You’ll get upset of course, that’s normal and there’ll be days when worry will not leave you alone. But the fact is that doesn’t change the difficulties you’re going through.  What will, is the way you think.

The thing about life is misfortunes happen all the time and you have no control over them,  the only thing that you can control is your mindset.  So arming yourself with a positive mindset will decide how you respond and also make you stronger. Besides, it makes you better prepared.

6. Believe In Yourself

There are bound to be ups and downs in life, it’s a natural part of life. And there are many things that impact your journey through life.

But one of the key factors in getting through tough times is to believe in your abilities and that you’re capable.

Don’t feel like you’re incapacitated. There will be countless times when you second-guess yourself.  If you’re not optimistic then you’ll break under the pressure of severe misfortune.

There’s no other way out but to believe that you have the capacity that you can and will get through this situation.

7. Show Compassion

With everything in life, you have to start somewhere and the best person to start with is you. Look for ways to sprinkle hope and show kindness to others.

When you show compassion and kindness becomes your way of doing things, then it will have a snowball effect and rub off on the people that are around you.

From your actions, they’ll be enthused to carry out random acts of kindness.

Benefits Of Adversity

Adversity is the best teacher.  It gives you an opportunity to capture priceless intimate and detailed knowledge of your misfortunes. T

This gives you a chance to learn from your past experiences and apply this knowledge to tough times in the future. Giving you a better handle on how to deal with these types of situations. 

You can look at what technique worked in the past and see which one will best serve you best.

How Do You Overcome Adversity Quotes

1. “Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.” – Roy T. Bennett

2.“I don’t run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run towards it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your foot.” – Natalie Comaneci

3.“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. -Jimmy Dean

4.“As with the butterfly, adversity is necessary to build character in people. ” – Joseph B Wirthlin

5.“Adversity shakes the foundation of our character to see if what we believe and value is really worth standing for. ” – Rae Smith

6.“It’s important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.” – Michelle Obama

7.“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.” – Unknown

8.“Challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine-

9.“It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good both for oneself and others.” – Dalai Lama

10.“Adversity is the source of our deepest growth and greatest blessings; embrace it, dare to seek it.” – Aron Ralston

11.“You may not realise when it happens but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” – Walt Disney

12.“All the adversities I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles have strengthened me.” – Walt Disney

13.“Life has pounded me down and thrashed me around time and time again. But I still love life, just as the earth still loves the rain. ” – Suzy Kassem

Conclusion On Hope In Adversity

The truth is if you want to keep it together in those difficult times there is not much else you can hold on to except hope. Whatever hardships you’re facing you always want to be optimistic.

Being hopeful and positive in the face of adversity is the life support that you strongly need to hang on to. At the end of the day, it’s hope that gives you the strength to withstand and rise above these traumatic situations to position you to transform and flourish.

How do you stay hopeful when faced with adversities?  comment below!