I thought I would share a story of adversity and how we can
overcome obstacles through one simple process.
Adversity Quotient is a term that was created around the mid to late
1990’s. The basic thought about
Adversity Quotient is that it is your ability to deal with challenges and how
you respond to change. We should grow
from the trials in life and not allow them to tear us down. What struggles have you faced? Have they deterred you from your purpose in
life? From your goals?
Here is my story. I
had just finished my second year of college at the University of Colorado. Go BUFFS!
It was the Friday before Memorial Day and I was exercising before going
to work that night. I was also excited
because on Memorial Day I was going to have my first official date with a
beautiful, wonderful woman I had met during the semester. I jumped on my touring bike and began my 8
mile ride before getting ready for work.
I was about 8 blocks from home and passing a middle school. All of a sudden, the front wheel released and
the front forks of the bike tore into the asphalt. I had no time to react and found myself
plunging face first into the asphalt.
All of this happened so fast just as change can occur in our lives. There are times we have no time to prepare
for change and find ourselves in a situation we never expected. When was the last time this happened to you?
My face hits the asphalt and I find myself sliding and
flipping down the street. I somehow
ended up on my feet and remember the intense burn on my face and seeing the
holes in my wrist area of my arms. I
couldn’t really see out of my right eye.
My immediate thought was that I was going to have an immense scab on my
face and would have to deal with that all summer. I was thinking about how long it would take
to heal and how my summer would be ruined with a giant scab on my face. What about my date? Have you ever had something hit you so
suddenly that you begin to start “crying” about the inconvenience it is going
to cause? Could be worse, so don’t dwell
on what it could be and focus on your inner you and strength. The journey may change.
You know how you were always told not to touch the burner
because it was hot and yet you wanted to touch it as a kid? That was my next move in my journey with this
sudden accident, this intense adversity.
I thought about touching the scab and seeing how bad it was going to
be. As I slowly touched my face, my
fingers slid on my exposed skull and I found that the right side of my face was
somehow missing. It was mangled and teeth
were spewing out of my mouth. The blood
began rushing so incredibly hard and fast that I didn’t know what to do! I was about to scream and go running in a
panic, but I remember what happened next.
I felt as though I was being touched on my right shoulder and heard a
voice telling me that I was going to be okay.
I immediately felt calm and walked slowly over to the grass area next to
the school as the voice instructed. I heard I was going to be all right and that everything would be
okay. I laid down in the grass face
first feeling as state of peace and some teachers rushed to my aid.
Have you ever felt panic during a time of change or adversity? How did you react? What were your thoughts? Did you gain composure?
I was laying there face first bleeding like none other. The school nurse showed up and somehow I was
able to speak a little and I asked how it looked. She tried to muster up a way to make me feel
better. Her exact words were, “Your nose
appears to be broken.” At this time I
knew it was bad and laughed a little. I
told a joke about a teacher who had a broken nose, “Great. Now I’m going to
look like Mr…..” I knew some of the people there, but they didn't recognize
me. I told them who I was as best I
could with both jaws being broken and blood choking my every word. My sister showed up as they were able to get
a hold of her. She didn't recognize me
and who would. We never see beneath the
skin of those we interact with! Do you
truly know the ones you love? The ones
you interact and work with? Truly listen
to them and care for them and find their inner beauty? We fail to take time to truly experience the
joy in the ones we love.
I had determined that I was going to be okay and accepted
the challenge before me. Panic and fear
were not going to overcome me. We have a
choice in any situation that we face in life.
The simple solution is to determine our approach. We can’t change what has occurred, but we can
change the outcomes and the journey.
Your attitude and your ability to face adversity are determined by your
approach. Choose to move forward and
know that you can make it. My story
continues and the challenges in the hospital and the following year I am going
to continue in my next blog. I want to
share the journey in hopes that it will help you and others truly face your
challenges in life and turn them into opportunities. We tend to over-complicate our lives and approaches to adversities in our lives. Everything in life works out! Good comes from bad in our lives! I could have created a crisis or issue in my
life, but I chose not to. We create our
issues in our life and therefore are the solution. Please share this with as many individuals as
you can. I want to continue the journey with thousands of you and share how you and those you love can create a wonderful life in how you face adversity! What is your approach when
faced with difficulty? What is your
level of courage?
Please stay tuned.
Please share your story with me!
Next blog the story continues…..almost dropped and more! Could it get worse?
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