Anytime I speak about adversity, I discuss in terms of how we relate to adversity. This includes both how we react to it, but also how we perceive any given adversity. The Pandemic has been a source of great adversity for many of us. For some who have lost loved ones, it has been and will always represent extreme adversity. For others, the Pandemic may only represent mild uncertainty. Perhaps, for some, it was even a fun time, not that most of us have not experienced some joy amidst the uncertainty and even tragedy. For all of us, it will serve as a model of adversity, much as total wars have done for older and past generations. So, it is important for us to mentor the younger generations about adversity, whereby this reference event can be of greatest benefit to their growing wisdom.

Often, when people talk about adversity, they will say, “All you can control is how you react to it.” That is somewhat true. However, even before we react to adversity, we perceive the adversity. It often interest me to hear two people discuss the same event, such as a trip or a work project. One person discussing a trip may say that everything went off without a hitch. We had such a great time. The other person describing the same trip may same, “For starters, John forgot to gas up the car, so we were late getting started right out of the gate. Then, when we got to the park, the lines were long. It was hot, and I had to go to the bathroom, which were all inside the park. I couldn’t go, until I finished going through the ticket line. Finally, got in. And, there were lines for everything. The sun was blazing and the lines were so backed up, we were without shade, until we got up close to our turn on each ride. I could not wait to get back in the car and for the whole trip to be over.” So, it is important to understand both how we perceive adversity, and how others may perceive adversity. Monitor our perception of adversity, and regulate our perception of adversity. Also, be understanding of other people’s perception of adversity. What may be almost imperceptible to you, may be a great adversity to someone else.

Then, of course, how do we react to the adversity?