Masterful Mindsets ~ How do you show up in the face of adversity?
“Strength of character isn’t always about how much you can handle before you break, it’s also about how much you can handle after you’ve broken.” – unknown
Question:
How do you show up in the face of adversity? Are you proud of how you behave when things get difficult for you? How do you handle setbacks or failures? Who do you know that models the character traits you’d like to possess to get you through trying times?
Action Challenge:
I’ll start this post off with letting you know that I was trying to remember this week’s quote without looking at it (which is now why you know I usually always read it). None the less, here’s what I say in the video. It’s close… you get the idea:
“Strength of character doesn’t always mean how you behave before you’ve broken, it more so means how you behave once you’ve broken.”
The point is, it’s easy to show positive character traits when everything is going good in your life but sometimes the best way to truly know a person is to see how they show up in the face of adversity.
Which is why I want to take our conversation from last week (about how easy it is to assess someone’s character traits by observing their actions) a step farther and add that how someone shows up in the face of adversity really speaks volumes about their true character.
Whether it’s a small simple problem or a life altering event, how you show up in the face of adversity says a lot about you. Anyone can be joyful, kind and confident when things are going their way… but when you’ve been broken, when things get hard and when you struggle or fail… that shows true strength of character.
For the sake of today’s conversation, watch the video to hear the example I gave of myself, based on something that happened recently.
I challenged myself to try something new and I screwed it up! But what’s important is how I handled the issue… I laughed at myself, I owned my weakness and my mistake, I persevered and made it through – feeling not only proud of myself for being courageous enough to try something new but also for the way I’d handled the mistake. In other words, how I showed up in the face of adversity, made me feel good about my own character. And guess what? People noticed that more then they noticed the mistake. I got messages from some of the participants afterwards, with one even saying that she appreciated me being real, honest and vulnerable with them. And that I had actually inspired her to take some bold actions of her own.
You never know how you will touch someone else’s life by the way you show up. You’ve heard me talk before about being a role model – this is another example of how we can role model positive character traits to others because people will often relate to you more in the face of adversity, than any other time…
So how will you show up? What kind of character traits show through when you are challenged, tested or experiencing failure?
For me, this time… I’m proud to say I was courageous, kept my sense of humor, owned it, persevered, and figured it out. (Sometimes our greatest excellence in not in what we know, but in our willingness to learn.)
My challenge for you is to think about how you show up in the face of adversity. What are your strongest character traits when you are at your weakest? And who do you know that models what you’d like to learn to do/be when you are faced with difficulty? What is one step you can take to bring yourself closer to possessing those character traits?
Lastly, remember that you never know when someone is watching. A child, a spouse, a friend or co-worker. Show up as your best self every day – not just when things are going well – but always. Be your best true you, whether it’s a great day or a difficult day.
***I want to hear from you… Share your comments below.