Adverse Conditions and Attitude...

Uncategorized Mar 14, 2019

"The greatest works of admiration, and all the fair examples of renown, out of distress and misery are grown."
– Samuel Daniel, Earl of Southampton

A while back I was having an online conversation with one of my college buddies, I was asked how I was doing. I responded "well" and added a "smiley face" to my post. At that, he asked if that was genuine joy or if I was "hysterically smiling in the face of adversity" - this, of course, prompted me to LOL. Oops...I mean...that prompted me to laugh out loud (really loud). We’ve been friends for about five years now and he's come to know me as the boy who pops an optimism pill as much as Dr. House (on Fox's former hit show "House") pops pain killers. Needless to say, in this instance, I was simply genuinely overjoyed; but that phrase prompted a thought process that led to what you are now reading...

Taunting, I have found, can be an effective tool to discourage and, in essence, disarm one's enemies. While my opponents during a basketball game are not enemies, they tend to become potent targets for a little dose of trash talking (though limited to people I know). I was always told that basketball is a thinking game; so, all things being equal, athleticism accounts for much but is useless without solid "basketball IQ." In taunting, I get to test the IQ of my opponents and see if their game can withstand a barrage and torrent...no, deluge, of taunts. The best of them tend to only play better; the worst of them, become puppets...and I, the puppeteer.

Adverse conditions are universal; no matter one's station in life, challenges will come. What seems to differentiate those who overcome and succeed and those who do not is this: attitude. I believe that we must constantly evaluate our "Life IQ" to see if we are tooling and retooling regularly to match changing conditions. Those with a high "Life IQ" know that if one is not coming out of a challenge or in one presently, then the challenge is around the corner; so, they prepare. It's been said that "chance favors the prepared"...so the chances of one overcoming and withstanding the deluge and torrent of adversity greatly increase when one is...well...ready.

One amazing tool to use is to "hysterically smile in the face of adversity". It helps you change your perspective, and, in turn, helps you change your attitude. I am sad to report that we make ourselves victims far too much; we choose to be overcome by things we ought to know are common to all. Just like Christmas comes once every year, and at the same time, yet people fail to prepare (and in turn prepare to fail), adversity is going to come; we just need to learn how to be ready.

Are you ready? Is your life boarded up for the storm? Do you have supplies to last you through and past the harsh conditions? Do you have insurance to cover any damage? Or are you simply hoping that the storm will miss your city and go elsewhere?

©2019, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.

Close

90% Complete

Almost Done...

Please fill in your name, email and message below, and one of our team members will reach out no later than 24 hours.
(Unless it's the weekend, of course.)