The 4 Advantages to Adversity from John C. Maxwell’s Leading in Tough Times
As human beings, we seem to believe that life is supposed to be easy. This is particularly a problem in America today. We expect a smooth and easy road to success. We expect our lives to be hassle free. We expect the government to solve our problems. We expect to get the prize without having to pay the price. That is not reality! Life is hard.
In Life’s Greatest Lessons, Hal Urban writes,”Once we accept the fact that life is hard, we begin to grow. We begin to understand that every problem is also an opportunity. It is then that we dig down and discover what we’re made of. We
begin to accept the challenges of life. Instead of letting our hardships defeat us, we welcome them as a test of character. We use them as a means of rising to the occasion.”
This reality is especially important for leaders to recognize and embrace. Nothing worth having in life comes without effort. That is why psychiatrist M. Scott Peck begins his book The Road Less Traveled with the words “Life is difficult.” If we don’t understand and accept the truth that life is difficult, that leadership is difficult, then we set ourselves up for failure and we won’t learn or succeed.
As leaders, even if we are willing to concede that life is difficult for most people, deep down inside many of us secretly hope somehow that this truth won’t apply to us. But no one escapes life’s problems, failures, and challenges. If we are to make progress, we must do so through life’s difficulties. Or as poet Ralph Waldo Emerson stated it, “The walking of Man is falling forwards.”
Here are four advantages of adversity:
- Adversity Introduces Us to Ourselves: Adversity creates an opportunity for self- discovery.
- Adversity Is a Better Teacher Than Success: Oprah Winfrey advises, “Turn your wounds into wisdom.”
- Adversity Opens Doors for New Opportunities: A mistake simply shows you something you didn’t know. Once you make the mistake, then you know it.
- Adversity Writes Our Story If Our Response Is Right: If you see a failure as an opportunity to learn and get better, it will be.
What kind of story will tough times write in your life? Every leader gets a chance to be the hero in a potentially great story. Some step up to that role and some don’t. The choice is yours.
Challenging times will come, but great leaders know how to lead their teams and emerge even stronger—prepare yourself now using this helpful guide to personal and professional success.
Great leaderships will face challenges. Markets will collapse; pandemics will come; people will always provide new and interesting ways to makes things difficult. But leaders must achieve results and build a team that produces, even when you are faced with difficult circumstances.
This all-new book from John Maxwell, created using content from several of his previous bestselling titles, is the ultimate guide to helping your team survive and even thrive when the unexpected happens. Maxwell helps leaders identify their team's main challenges, take stock of their liabilities, understand what they can control, and use challenges as opportunities to rethink the way they do things. He ultimately gives leaders the tools to grow their teams in the midst of difficult times.
Through humor, in-depth insight, and examples, internationally recognized leadership expert John C. Maxwell reassures leaders that they can still lead well and help people develop the skills they need to become great leaders, even when times are tough.