You Decide If Adversity Builds You or Breaks You

A note to young leaders.

Adversity is not optional. It’s not a glitch in the matrix. It’s intrinsic to life’s purpose and design.

No matter how smart or strong you are – or think you are – life has an uncanny ability to find your Achilles’ heel. It will eventually unbalance you and wrestle you to the ground.

No exceptions. No one leaves the arena unscathed.

Nor is adversity something you can out-plan, out-wit or out-run. Nothing is more futile than running away from adversity.

Just ask any 50-year-old whether they’ve experienced some very tough periods in their life. The answer will always be: “Absolutely, more than once.”

How do I know that?

Because life has been meaningfully designed. It’s been designed to test us – to test our skill, test our will, test our character.

So if life has been kind to you recently, prepare – for you will soon be tested.

And when your time comes – whether it’s in the form of loss, illness, betrayal, failure or grief – remember that it’s not the adversity itself that breaks you, but your surprise.

Expect life to be tough and adversity will find you unflinching and prepared. Expect it to be easy, and adversity will leave you bruised and bewildered.

The choice is yours.