In the last post, Stay Strong During Periods of Adversity, we described how to stay strong during periods of adversity. Today we are going to talk about the many dangers of not coping with adversity.
What this shows is that not only are you weak, but you aren’t prepared mentally to take on the challenge.
When you don’t cope well when facing a difficult challenge or challenges in your life, you end up with a lot to lose.
Here is a list of dangers of not coping with adversity:
You Run the Risk of Becoming Depressed
The National Network of Depression Centres has stated that one in five Americans will be affected by depression in their lifetime.
This psychological problem, which also includes anxiety, is one of the leading mental problems in the world today.
This really should be too shocking as our world is full of potentially mentally damaging circumstances.
If you are not strong enough to weather stormy days, you run the risk of plunging into depression.
On a side note, depression is not the same as those brief moments of sadness. We can all experience this when an unpleasant situation occurs in our daily activities.
Depression is actually the intensity of the situation and the length of time one is feeling this way.
People who suffer from depression will experience intense feelings of sadness. This feeling can take up a significant part of their day.
As well it can last for many days, weeks, or even months.
One of the significant signs of depression is becoming socially withdrawn. This is a situation where people prefer to stay indoors and sleep for long periods of time.
They tend to ignore their responsibilities, family, and friends.
We all have occasional bouts of wanting to be alone. It becomes a problem when that is all we want to do.
It is important to talk to a therapist if you are feeling like your depression is not just an occasional bout of sadness.
You Can Lose Your Self-Confidence
If you don’t believe in yourself, how is anyone else going to believe in you?
You will find that it is very rare that people will give responsibility to people who don’t believe they have what it takes to succeed.
Mostly it is because there is no other person that can be trusted to take on the responsibility.
When you allow challenges to overwhelm you, your confidence will be destroyed.
Unfortunately, you get used to giving excuses for your failures. In fact, you probably should have said it beforehand that you will be unable to succeed at the task.
As a result, when you fail, you will only remind your detractors that you already predicted your failure.
Yes, it is alright to have a realistic assessment of your abilities. However, the truth is that there are times when you will never know what you could have done if only you made an attempt.
Therefore it is a good idea to test your ability to solve a problem. Only you need to do is to try.
There are many people who have stumbled on the solution to a problem because they made an attempt.
Such people make their own luck. Remember the saying: luck favors the bold.
You might want to consider approaching a situation like someone who has nothing to lose. If you fail, you will have learned a lesson.
You Have a Loss of Trust
In order to have people trust you, you are going to need to start facing your challenges. As well, you will need to find ways of coping with adversity.
If you have a history of giving up when the going gets tough, no one is going to be able to trust you.
This is a problem. As well it is limiting when it comes to you seeking leadership positions.
Certainly one of the many attributes of a leader is the ability to be able to solve problems.
No one is going to remember the leader who went into hiding when challenges came up.
If you are looking to become that person others can trust during challenges, you are going to need to cope well with adversity.
It is important to remember that you can’t give what you don’t have.
In fact, it is when you are able to solve your own problems that you can help other people solve theirs.
Letting Fear Get in the Way
Fear is just part of being human. In fact, fear is why we take our security seriously. It is also the reason for regular medical check-ups.
It is important that we protect ourselves from crime or damage to our health.
However, fear becomes a problem when we let it overwhelm us and let it prevent us from making the best out of our life.
When challenges show up and we decided to run away from them, we become a slave to that fear.
You may become afraid of failing or you don’t want people to criticize or blame you.
As a result, we end up giving excuses for those fears.
You might try to call it being realistic. However, that is not really the truth.
If you don’t know how to deal with a challenge it is a better idea to learn from people who have conquered a similar issue.
Having to Live with Shame
You will end up having to live with shame and guilt for the rest of your life if you back down from dealing with issues.
It will even get worse for you when you are confronted with other people’s success when it comes to overcoming challenges.
You probably don’t want to have to deal with failure in your life just because you were afraid to take a bold step.
In the end, you will have to live with the shame of knowing you might have overcome the challenge if only you had tried.
Who knows what you might have accomplished if you had the mental strength of making the best of bad situations.
Now is the time to stop making excuses for things you can’t change and start working on ways of coping with adversity.
As you get old you are probably going to wish you had stepped up. You don’t have to remember your failure with shame and regrets in later years.
The Need For Acceptance Will Make You Invisible – Jim Carrey – Video:
There are lots of people who have taught themselves through determination to not give excuses for their failures.
At the end of the day, you are responsible for whatever you accomplish in life.
When you lack the resilience to overcome errors of judgment and instead blame others or circumstances for your predicaments, you fail.
When you take responsibility for coping with adversity, you may find that the lessons you learned lead you to more success.
