“Setbacks are given to ordinary people to make them extraordinary” — Paul Jeffers
I must admit, adversity is not a popular word with me. It is not a word I like to use often or something I like to experience. This may possibly be true for you as well. After several life experiences, observations and reading about people making significant impact, I came to the conclusion that adversity is a great thing in the hands of those who refuse to give up on life. Throw anything at them, they will make something positive out of it after the painful process of accepting and adapting to the new reality.
After 10 years of living in East London, my family and I moved further into the suburbs not knowing what to expect and the first gift we received from a close family friend who visited was a canvas print with these words,
“Sometimes, the dreams that come true are the dreams you never ever knew that you had.”
These words are a snapshot of my life in the two years prior to the move, and receiving the gift at such a critical moment in my life was a huge encouragement and booster to my confidence and belief in my dream.
That’s what adversity can give you: a gift, a dream you never knew you had. I’ve always wanted to write but never got started until I was drowning in adversity; fighting to stay afloat in 2009 after losing my property development company to the recession.
I recently came across the story of Henry Fraser, a young man who had an accident as a 17-year-old while on holiday in Portugal with friends, that damaged his spinal cord and left him paralysed from the shoulders down. His story was tragic, yet inspiring. Six years on, he had rediscovered himself, accepted his reality and adapted to live a rather inspiring life. Today, he is a mouth artist, (paints with the brush in his mouth) public speaker, challenging people to push themselves beyond what they can currently see. – “Accept what is, and adapt” is Henry’s simple message to the world. In his words, Henry said,
“My body has been taken to the edge of death. My mind has had to find strength I never knew existed. At some point, you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening… Since my accident, I’ve had to learn a lot and learn fast. Adversity has given me a gift.”
Picture Credit: @henryfraser0
Henry’s story is not in isolation. Every day, people experience moments that change their lives forever. We will only get to hear their stories when they have overcome the shared limitations imposed by their new reality. They have come to accept, adapt and make the best of their new reality. The truth is, your circumstances do not have to change for your story to change. Henry’s circumstance has not changed, but his story has, because he was willing to accept the gift of adversity and unwrap it for the world to see.
I have accepted the gift of writing which adversity presented to me and I am still unwrapping it daily until the whole gift is visible to the world.
The Gift Of Adversity March 2nd, 2016Wole Sosanya
Tagged: ADVERSITY, DREAMS, GIFT, HENRY FRASER, SETBACKS
