Lessons I learned from Adversity
“The best education we can ever receive is from the University of Adversity. It's the only institute of learning that rewards us when we fail.”
― Jason Versey, A Walk with Prudence
With the hectic pace of today’s world, we easily get caught up in the busyness of life.
We are forever stressed, overwhelmed, and running errands, attending to work, rushing to office, stuck in traffic jams. Our mind is swirling with thoughts, and we have no control over it. We do not even think to press the pause button and listen to the body whispers.
The bones creak, joints are screaming for attention, but we don't care. There is a lot of work to get done and many mountains to climb. The to-do list never ends and goals remain goals forever.
Life is so fragile
"Sometimes the uncomfortable things in life are there to teach us lessons because to go through a change of habit, we need to feel uncomfortable."
— Mo Seetubtim
This was the case even with us at home. Until one day, everything came to a screeching halt and we were forced to pause. My husband had neglected his back pain for several months. One fine morning, he was no longer able to walk without support. His diagnosis was a life fracturing moment for us.
Moments like this make you realize that life can be so fragile. It can be destroyed in an instant and you would have no control over it. My husband went through multiple surgeries, which meant long hospital stays, heavy doses of medications, bedridden for more than six months. Doctors had no hopes that he would walk again.
The diagnosis and what followed changed the entire course of our life. Here was a change, which was difficult to manage, for my husband as a patient and for me as a caregiver.
During the course of his treatment, until the time he was back on his feet, we needed a lot of mental and physical strength. We had our family support, which helped us face this challenge.
Today when I look back on the challenging times, it actually made us strong.
You cannot control life, but don't surrender to it either.
"Sometimes the uncomfortable things in life are there to teach us lessons because to go through a change of habit, we need to feel uncomfortable."
— Mo Seetubtim
Life throws you into such situations and what makes you come out of it solely depends on how you think. If you remain strong and are clear about what your priorities are at the moment, you get the strength to face such difficulties. As a caregiver, the first thing I had to do was to have a lot of patience. Strength and patience have today become the most valuable assets for me. It changed my outlook on life.
My husband overcame this adversity by sheer grit and determination. And there are many things to learn from the way he looked at this setback.
Today when I provide life coaching to my clients, I am able to empathize and help them talk about their priorities and goals. This emotional journey has prepared me to understand and help my clients better
Three important lessons
You have to make your own health your priority. Which means you have to take deliberate pauses in your hectic schedules and listen to what your body has to say. Nothing is more important than that.
Reflect and find out what really matters to you. Career, wealth, material possessions can become glaringly insignificant in the face of severe health issues.
There is a lot of noise in our lives. Learn to filter and do things that really matter to you.
You cannot control a lot of things in your life, but you can control your attitude towards them. If you don't then life can start controlling you.
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
― Maya Angelou
