Hard Times | The Opportunity to Transform Lives

As humans, we tend to believe that life should be easy. This is especially a problem in modern societies. We expect a smooth and easy path to success.

We expect life to be free of problems. We expect the government to solve our problems. We expect to receive the reward without having to pay the price. That is not the reality! Life is hard.

In the book (Life's Greatest Lessons), Hal Urban writes:

When we accept that life is difficult, we begin to grow. We begin to understand that every problem is also an opportunity.

It is then that we dig deeper and discover what we are made of. We begin to embrace life’s challenges. Instead of allowing them to defeat us, we welcome them as a test of character and use them as a way to rise above our circumstances.

It is especially important for leaders to recognize and embrace this reality. Nothing worthwhile comes without effort.

That's why psychiatrist M. Scott Peck begins his book The Road Less Traveled with the words, “Life is hard.”

If we do not understand and accept the truth that life is difficult, that leadership is difficult, then we set ourselves up for failure and we will not learn or succeed.

As leaders, even though we are willing to admit to others that life is hard, deep down we secretly hope that this truth does not apply to us. But no one escapes life’s problems, failures, and challenges. If we want to progress, we must do so through the hardships along the way; or as The poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “The way of man is to fall forward.”

THE ADVANTAGES OF ADVERSITY

Good leaders understand that adversity and challenges are actually opportunities to grow in leadership.

1. Adversity Introduces Us to Ourselves

Adversity always gets our attention. We cannot ignore it. It makes us stop and look at the situation around us and at ourselves too, if we have the courage. Adversity creates an opportunity for self-discovery.

As the great Egyptian leader Anwar el-Sadat said: “Great suffering builds the human being and puts him within reach of self-knowledge.” I believe this is true, if we embrace it.

In his book “A Man Is What He Thinks”, James Allen says: “Circumstances do not make the man; they reveal him to himself.”

1. Adversity is a Better Teacher than Success

Adversity comes to us as a teaching tool. You’ve probably heard the saying, “When the student is ready, the teacher will come.” That’s not necessarily true.

With adversity the teacher will come, whether the student is ready or not. Those who are ready learn from the teacher, those who are not do not learn.

Oprah Winfrey advises: “Turn your wounds into wisdom.”

And leaders can only do this when they have the right mindset.

• Adversity Opens Doors to New Opportunities

One of the greatest lessons we learn as leaders is that adversity is often the door to opportunity.

Good leaders know this instinctively, but most people have been trained to view adversity the wrong way.

As speaker Kim Kiyosaki noted:

“Since kindergarten, most of us are taught that mistakes are bad. You often hear, ‘Don’t make mistakes!’ In fact, the way we learn is by making mistakes.

A mistake simply shows you something you didn't know. The moment you make the mistake, you know.

Think about the time you touched a hot stove (the mistake). Because you made that mistake, you learned that if you touch a hot stove you will get burned. A mistake is not bad; it is there to teach you something.”

Many people, when faced with adversity, allow it to get them down. Instead, they should look at the benefit or opportunity behind it.

When you face difficult times, do you often see opportunities? Do you look for ways to take advantage of them?

• Adversity Can Write Our History if We React Right

Some leaders treat adversity as a stepping stone, others as a tombstone. The difference in how they approach it depends on how they view it. Performance psychologist Jim Loehr said:

“Champions have taught us to take an experience and basically write the story of its effect. If you see a failure as an opportunity to learn and improve, then so be it. If you see it as a death blow, then so be it. In this way, the power of the story is more important than the experience itself.”

If you respond to adversity correctly, you will see it as something that can help you become better than you were before. Years ago, I read a poem by James Casey called (Climb the Steep Ascent). The first stanza says:

“For every hill I had to climb

• For every stone that came to hurt my feet  
• For all the blood and sweat dripping
• Through the storms that blinded and the heat that burned
• My soul sings with gratitude

These were the things that strengthened my heart.”

What kind of story will difficult times write in your life? Every leader has the chance to be the hero of a story with the potential to be great. Some rise to take on that role, others don’t. The choice is yours.

Good leaders see opportunities and seize them. They are continually on the lookout for ways to help their organizations and advance their teams.

Leadership authors James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner compare leaders to the settlers who founded the United States or dominated the western frontier.

They write: “Leaders are pioneers—people who are willing to step into the unknown. They are people who are willing to take risks, innovate, and experiment in order to find new and better ways of doing things.”

 Leaders, by definition, are in the forefront. They conquer new territory and others follow. Great leaders don’t just send others out in times of trouble. They lead the charge. They are more like tour guides than travel agents. They see opportunities, prepare to move forward, and then say, “Follow me!”