Albert Einstein once said that “adversity introduces a man to himself.”
When something bad or unfortunate happens in your life, what is the first thing that comes to mind? What questions do you ask yourself? Do you ask for an explanation? Do you go in a cocoon? What does adversity make you think of and what do you do when it suddenly strikes?
Part of human nature tells us that adversity is the worst thing on the planet and that we should avoid it at all costs. First of all, adversity doesn’t have to be a bad thing and, second of all, it is absolutely unavoidable.
As people, we don’t like to face challenges nor do people plan on having an obstacle jump in front of them. And that is something that makes us similar in some ways but different in other ways.
Some people approach a problem that wasn’t supposed to greet them and attack it from every angle and don’t think anything of it, but others shy away from it and ask why the issue was sprung upon them instead of somebody else; they ask, “why me?”.
Even though it is the first thing that comes to mind in a tough and stressful situation, it is one of the worst questions to ask when things go wrong.
Asking that question is just a waste of time. You won’t get the answer that you are looking for. You will just be getting yourself more overwhelmed. But, most importantly, you will be contributing to the problem instead of just searching for the solution.
Sure, there will be times when that question makes its way up into your brain and becomes the only thing swirling in your head, but you have to force yourself to change the question to “why not me?”.
That question is very rejuvenating and makes me want to work harder to solve a problem that invites adversity into my life. It convinces me that I can handle anything that comes my way.
Plus, when you ask why you were put in an unfavorable situation, you begin to think about what your life would be like if you weren’t facing an adverse situation, but, when you ask yourself, “why not me?”, you start to realize that the situation could be worse and there are people who aren’t as fortunate as you are.
When you are faced with adversity, you can’t get yourself upset and have to look into the mirror and ask, “why not me?”.
Excellent piece… enjoyed reading it.
Excellent!