Adversity adds versatility | © Fola Daniel Adelesi – Fola Daniel Adelesi (Fola Daniel Speaks)

We don’t like adversity and the reason for that is well understood. Adversity breaks many of us and it presents situations that we find hard to challenge. For some people it takes their pride away by the time it is over. Some people have so many losses to count and others just don’t know where to begin from after the adversity.

Permit me to break the word ‘Adversity’ into ‘Ad-versity’ which I also interpret to mean ‘add versatility.’ When you look up the synonyms for versatility you will find words like adaptability, flexibility, resourcefulness and usefulness. This therefore means that there is more to the adversity that you are going through at any point or any time.

I believe that adversity can actually make you more flexible and resourceful. I even like the word useful which was found as a synonym for it. Many people usually look at things only from one perspective. When things are going on well for them they think it is their hard work that is paying off and every other person must be lazy. Before the days of adversity for other people, they think that everything they do and get results for is because they are intelligent. They just fail to realize that there are more intelligent people out there who are not getting any results.

Once you enter into adversity, your perspective is bound to change. You no longer think of every other person as being lazy or ignorant. It is then you realize that there are people who have skills and will be able to do more than you are doing if the timing was right for them and the environment enabled them with the ideal connections.

Things may not seem right with you at the moment. It just may appear as though all is not well. You may have been a mess for so long and you are just thinking about what else you can possibly do. I also guess you would have tried all that you know how to do or consulted several people for solutions.

Just before the solutions come or even if they have come, there is something you must take away from adversity. The first is that you will see life in a different way. At that point you will understand what other people are going through in life. That puts you in a position to be able to emphatize with them. Many people can sympathize but only for a moment. That’s also because they have not been through those situations themselves.

After going through the school of adversity yourself, you lose your bragging rights on everything you have as possessions and everything you have achieved. This is because you will understand that what you have achieved could have been achieved by some other people. They can also do better if things fall into place for them but it just did not happen and no one can explain why it did not.

If you are also preparing for leadership then the adversity you are going through right now will be useful for you in your leadership position. You will one day be in a position to counsel others and you will have a richer experience to offer them.

No one wants adversity but the knowledge and experience it offers us cannot be learnt in any school. That is why we should not be quick to wish it away but ensure that we gain all that needs to be gained from every adversity.

Let me leave you with this thought. What versatility is your ‘Ad-versity’ (Ad versatility) giving to you?

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Fola Daniel Adelesi
President/CEO,
Edible Pen.

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