Adversity

 

‘Things don’t go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up.  They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all you were intended to be.’

-Charlie Tremendous Jones

 

‘That which does not kill you makes you stronger.’

-Friedrich Nietzsche

 

‘Be open to the fact that when things don’t work out, it’s probably giving you the opportunity to be where you really should be.’

-Scott Hamilton

 

‘Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.  Circumstances and situations do color life but you have been given the mind to choose what the color shall be.

-John Homer Miller

 

When I look back at the adversity that I have been challenged with in life, I am thankful.  I know that each of those events and instances helped me grow, learn, and made me better.  Did I feel thankful during the events?  Of course not.  They felt horrible.

 

In the middle of every difficult situation, we do not have the benefit of hindsight.  It is difficult to understand and comprehend what you will learn from this experience.  It is nearly impossible to estimate the full impact and change.

 

In the middle of every difficult situation, you can hold on to the knowledge that you will learn something.  You can hold on to the knowledge that the event will turn out something new and different to look forward to.  You can hold on the knowledge that you will learn and grow from this experience.  You can hold on that you will get through it.  You have every time before.

 

I tore my rotator cuff on my pitching arm when I was in high school.  At the time, I was a star athlete with a bright future using that arm in either baseball or football.  I was immediately faced with having to sit out of sports for at least a year, and with complete uncertainty if I would be able to have any future in sports.  As you can imagine, I was crushed and confused as to the meaning of this and the impact to my future.  All in all, a very difficult time in my life.

 

With the benefit of hindsight, tearing my rotator cuff is one of the best things to ever happen to me.  I learned so much about myself in the aftermath of the injury that I do not believe that I ever would have if things would have continued to come easily for me.  I point to that event as the springboard to my success in education and my subsequent career.  I do not think that I would have experienced the same level of success without adversity.  I know that I became a better and more understanding person in the aftermath of the injury as well.  I am thankful for my injury.  It opened me up to new opportunities that I did not know before.

 

I am writing this with the benefit of hindsight.  But, I keep my story in mind every time I face adversity.  It is helpful for me to remind myself that there will be positive in the outcome.  I might not see it just yet. 

 

I encourage you to find your story and remember it whenever you face difficulties.  You will get through it.  You will be better because of it.

 

Kyle C. Ryan