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It is vital you discover how to create happiness in times of adversity and times of prosperity. While it may be easier to create happiness in times of prosperity, by discovering how to create happiness in times of adversity, you should always be able to create happiness.
When answering questions about adversity, I tend to lean on scripture. Regardless of your feelings about the Bible, we can probably all agree there was a lot of adversity and challenges faced by the authors.
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Proverbs 24:10 says, ‘If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small’. The idea here is that you should expect to face adversity, but more importantly, you are expected to overcome it. The challenges in your life should not overtake you, but you should overcome them.
All you need is a little grit and the proper mindset to find to create happiness through any adversity. If you find yourself searching for a sliver-lining in times of adversity, use the below mindset shifts.
1. Adversity help you grow
If nothing bad ever happens to you, then there would never be a reason to change anything. If your entire life was rainbows and skittles, there would not be an opportunity to grow. A key motivation in your life is the fact that you know things could be better. As a result, you are devoting the time to improving your circumstances so you can change your life.
Create happiness the superhero way
This is one of the reasons I love comics and mangas (Japanese comics) so much. I use to watch Dragonball Z as a kid, and Goku was rarely strong enough in the first encounter. He would lose the fight in epic fashion and would spend a significant amount of time training for the rematch. When the rematch came, our hero was a stronger and more skilled fighter. You can really take this formula and put it into any superhero movie.
Spiderman Multiverse, The Dark Night Rises, Infinity Wars… I could go on, but I think you get it.
If the hero wins the first time they fight, there is no need for them to train and retool their craft. This is the same formula you need to follow in your life. You lose, you train, and you rise to the challenge. Too often the formula used in real life is, you lose, you doubt yourself, you find something else to do. Well, today we change that and create happiness in times of adversity because we know it means we have an opportunity to grow.
2. Avoid becoming the victim
Things are going to happen in your life that you do not deserve. Sometimes these events are going to benefit you and other times they are going to be a hindrance. There is a unknown aspect of life, a game of chance where unexpected things are going to happen. You cannot allow yourself to fall into the comparison game of thinking someone else has it easier than you. And I am not even saying they may not have an advantage over you, but how does it benefit you to focus on the adversity? A part of rising to the challenge as you create happiness is the understanding that you are not looking for easy, you are looking for results.
Therefore, no matter how difficult something may be for you, the fact that it is possible is all you should be focused on. That way you will maintain your commitment to accomplishing your goal. If you spend all your time understanding why things are easier for someone else, you will likely start thinking of all the reasons to quit.
You have the ability to change your life and as a result, you have the ability to change other people’s lives as well. Where ever you allow your focus to go, that is where your energy is going too. This is why I tell people not to ask themselves questions like, “Why do I always mess up?” Because when you ask yourself questions like this, your mind is going to think of an answer. Instead, ask yourself, “what can I learn from this” or “how can I do better next time”. These questions encourage your mind to think of solutions, which will help you create happiness in times in adversity.
3. Keep hope alive
There are going to be events in your life that are not going to feel good. That is why you need to have hope in something bigger than any moment in your life. In James 1, he talks about the joys of overcoming adversity because he knows it is going to be an opportunity for him to “be perfect and complete”. Paul talked about how he didn’t even keep track of his suffering because he knew it didn’t compare to the reward of heaven.
In the same way, you are going to need to focus on something greater than the adversity you are facing in the moment. What is the heaven you are trying to create on earth? How will your life change when you accomplish your goal? Who else will benefit once you accomplish it? These are all questions you want to ask yourself to help you stay focused on the hope and not the challenge.
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4. You were not given a spirit of fear
You have a spirit of strengthen and courage. As a result, you already have the ability to rise to any challenge as long as you are willing to put in the work. When you are ready to take action, the best mindset to have is one of optimism. When you have optimism, you can almost see the future as if it exists today.
The key issue with a mindset of fear is it makes it almost impossible to take a step forward. You will always be thinking about the worst-case scenario and as a result, you will find yourself procrastinating. Which is usually the worst thing you could do at a time when you need consistent action.
Think of it like driving through a rain cloud. If you are driving on a highway, you can drive through a rain cloud in a couple minutes. If you are sitting in your house, then it can rain all day if the cloud never moves. When you are not taking action, you are sitting in the rain cloud. If you would get moving, you will realize the rain cloud is not so big you cannot travel beyond it. You may have to travel five, ten, or even twenty miles, but you will find sunlight as long as you keep moving. You are faced with the choice of sitting in the rain cloud and waiting for things to get better or taking action and driving until you see sunlight.
Final Thoughts
By focusing on the solution and the things you can control, you will have the proper mindset to create happiness in times of adversity. Remember, adversity is nothing more than an opportunity for you to grow on your path to greatness. The journey you are on is not always easy, but it is rewarding and beneficial to you and those you love
Until next time,
Continued blessings.
Dre ‘Living the achojah life‘ Griggs