rest day

In the very specific moment, adversity hurts. Let’s not create an illusion that it’s all sunshine and rainbows. It will try our values, test our patience, and challenge who we are as human beings. It’s not always a warm cup of cocoa on a winter morning.

But a warm cup of cocoa doesn’t make us better. Nailing a perfect squat snatch doesn’t make us better. Giving a flawless presentation at work doesn’t make us better. We learn when we make mistakes. When we miss, fall over, and get caught off guard. At our very basic biological level, this is how we adapt. Stressors are good for us.

That is, of course, if we them to our advantage. A lesson is useless if we apply it. To many, adversity = outcome. This happened, and that’s it. I didn’t get the job, because “the other guy was more qualified”. Let’s not stop there. Let’s accept the situation for whatever it is, and create an actionable step forward. Not a rose tinted, “the world is good” delusion, but rather recognizing that complaining or wishing things were different gets us nowhere. Instead, we’re going to take the challenge to earn greatness, out of something that once was not. This is the championship mindset.