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Turning Adversity into Opportunity
Blog | January 29, 2018
* I couldn’t find an image for this particular article, so I decided not to fuss about it and used it as an opportunity to share this picture of our Sadie girl 🙂 It’s a mood lifter! See, everything happens for a reason…Â
As we pursue our goals, we start to feel crushed whenever life gets in the way. Sometimes we get knocked back so hard it seems impossible to get back up, and we abandon our dreams in order to tend to reality. Raising a family, working a 9 to 5 job, dealing with a breakup, getting injuries, financial troubles…. All of these are valid things that either end up beyond our control or demand our attention.
When faced with adversity, it’s easy to give in and sacrifice the things we’re working towards. But the payoff starts to weigh us down emotionally. Instead of pursuing a goal that gives us life and inspiration, we put it up on a shelf of other broken dreams, and admit defeat. Overtime, we feel regret, sadness, and longing for the old part of us that was so ready to succeed. Even though giving up required little effort, it’s a heavy toll looking back at the possibility of our dreams.
Instead of running away from or losing to adversity, we should learn to find the opportunities from them.
Here are some ways we can do so.
If you’re working a full time job, are raising a family, or run on an inflexible schedule, dedicating any time towards a specific goal might be a stretch. But it can still be done. If you’re looking to lose weight, build muscle, or maintain your fitness, you can do any of these things if you use your circumstances as a means of mastering time management. Get up earlier than usual if you have to. Make your workouts short, sweet, and effective. If you don’t want to or can’t access a gym, learn to master body weight movements and supplement your training with pieces of equipment like a jump rope, kettle bell, or sliders. If you need guidance, just join the  ZGYM. Really look at your situation and find as many gaps in your day that allow you time to yourself. Even if it’s only 20 minutes, there’s plenty of time to exercise, journal, meditate, prepare a healthy meal, and invest in your well-being.
Even living on a budget can become an opportunity for you to grow. You’ll learn how to master personal finances, and appreciate every dollar you earn. The things you buy become investments, like whole foods that nourish your body. Having a budget can also teach you to become resourceful. You may be more cautious when it comes to buying things, and learn where to get the greatest deals or alternatives. Instead of seeing a budget as a sentence, look at it as a learning experience. Empower yourself by learning how to make the best of a situation in order to overcome and dominate it.
Another example of adversity comes from the people around us. Say we’re starting to make changes in our lifestyle, adopting healthier habits like consistently working out and eating healthy. After a while, our friends and family start to notice, and become critical. Instead of taking their criticisms as an attack, why not use it as an opportunity to share how good you feel and how good they might feel too if they give it a try? Who knows, you may just become someone else’s inspiration! And good health should always be inspirational. Even if your praises fall upon deaf ears, you’ll learn how to develop your confidence. You shouldn’t have to continue defending yourself or justifying your decisions. Instead, focus on taking care of you and leave everyone else to their own agendas. That too is an important lesson.
As the saying goes, where there’s a will there’s a way. If our goals are truly important to us, then we’ll stop at nothing to find some way to pursue them. It may not be easy, and unexpected adversities are bound to get in the way. But instead of giving up, we should find a way to use it to our advantage by changing them into opportunity. Behind every struggle is a lesson waiting to be learned. And from that, we have the potential to grow. We can master a skill, continue on self-improvement, or discover things about ourselves we’d have never known without being challenged.
The next time you’re faced with adversity, flip it on its head, and look for the opportunity. Whatever it is, ask yourself, “What can I learn from this, and how will it make me grow?”
What do you think? Have you ever experienced something similar in your life, or are you currently dealing with adversity? Let’s share our experiences and figure out the ways we can all grow from our struggles!
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Private Member |
christchurch, new zealand
Love it. That was just what I needed to read at just the right time. Thank you Zuzka!
Private Member |
bled, slovenia
Beautiful! Inspirational and I so much agree! We are the creators of our dreams and realities … so here I go further 🙂
Thx! Enjoy!
Private Member |
santiago, chile
Thank you so much for this post, Zuzka 🙂 It was just what I needed to read today: first day back from holidays, lots of work at my Company and chores at home… but it is an opportunity to prioritize and cook healthy foods with my daughter! And I’m so happy to be back at the ZGYM after a couple of weeks out with just yoga and walks. It was so nice, but I needed the ZGYM burn!
Private Member |
seattle, washington
Sometimes people get to focused on themselves when misfortune befalls them. It’s understandable that they would, but sometimes it is better to look outside yourself. Maybe help others or seek advice from your pastor or some other person you respect but has some distance from you.
Private Member |
chandler, az, usa
I’ve learned a lot in the last year of being a newlywed living with my mother-in-law and stepson. I completely agree that there is always a way to grow and learn. I have figured out that instead of getting overwhelmed and just trying to survive the situation sometimes it is better to accept that my situation is unique and just figure out how to move forward. I have figured out that I should not waste time trying to do what everyone else thinks I should do and instead figure out my long-term goals and make every decision to reach those goals. (Keeping every person who loves me happy is impossible at times. But those who really love me will respect my choices even if they don’t agree with them.) I have figured out that I should not wait for everyone else to join me in making healthy choices to start making them for myself. So many things worth doing are hard. Thank you for your articles and encouragement to everyone! You have built a great community. I have been taking time off from going through the bunny slope program to recover from a cough and find that I am missing it and can’t wait to get back to it. I never thought I would feel that way about daily exercise. I am feeling my body get stronger already from a few weeks! I also appreciate all the changes that have been made recently to make the Zgym less intimidating for beginners. I look forward to growing in this community. Thanks to you and the ZTeam for all you do every day. I’m sure you are overcoming your own adversity behind the scenes.
P.s. ❤️ the pic & caption. Made me 🙂
Private Member |
london, uk
Thank you Zuzka… “When there’s a will, there’s a way”…that’s my daily fix, and always will be..
Private Member |
I’m finally able to sit down to today and read this article. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Things were really starting to look good for my husband and me financially and emotionally between us. We were planning a trip to Belize in October, our 25th anniversary, soon going to be looking to upgrade our camper, because of his work we live on our fifth wheel trailer most of the year, do upgrades to our house and other things. All that came to a screeching halt this past sunday. While we were out and about a young girl lost control of her car and didn’t make a curve and hit us almost head on and turned my 3500 dodge truck on it’s side. i never would of thought a little car would/could do that to such a big truck. Now belize is out, new camper is out and not sure what else cause we are pretty sure my truck will be totaled, there’s not just body damage, all under it is tore up. stuff i just had replaced not even 2 years ago, all of it in the thousands. We were told when it got flipped upright the engine was leaking as well. This truck is what pulled our camper, my horse trailer, and basically got us anywhere we went. I had hoped this truck was going to last me another 10-20 years, Now, if it is totaled, we will have to be looking to buy another truck to replace that one. no way is insurance going to give enough money for that. On top of that, my husband’s truck, F250, is in need of repairs as well. Something else that was on our list for this year. but instead of focusing on all that negative we are grateful that the only injury my husband got was a bump on the head and as for me, a swollen face, black eye, swollen lip cause my tooth went through it but no stitches and few other bruises. We may not do Belize, a trip of a lifetime for us, but I’m sure whatever we do at least we’re together and still happily in love after all these years and trials. The house will take a little longer but it’ll get there and so will the new camper. this accident put a kink in our plans but it could have been so much worse. So thank you Zuzka for this article, Exactly what I needed to read and be reminded of right now 🙂
Private Member |
san antonio, texas
Thank for this article Zuzka. One of the many many many reasons I love ZGYM. You and your team have created such a well rounded community. Not just physical but spiritual/mental as well.
My husband and I moved back to my home town about 8 years ago….and from the beginning it was a bad decision. I’ve been trying really hard to make this bad move turn around, but, sometimes I long for the life we left in NYC. Little by little we are doing better, but it seems 1 step forward 100 back. This article made me feel so good to know it’s ok, and continue to learn , grow, and gain strength ❤️
Love you and ZGYM!!!!
Private Member |
Hi Z,
loved this article!
Sorry this is off topic but I didn´t have time to write a comment when you posted on your IG account you are ill and are trying to get fit with taking homeopathic pills. I´m studying pharmacy and I want to ask you if you really believe homeopathy works? If you ever thought about it…. How could sugar and substances used for filling heal ? Cuz honestly, many times the dilution is so crazy, that it is practically impossible to find in these “medicines” one single molecule of the active ingredient. Homeopathy is a pseudoscience. There are other really effective herbal medicines you can take that have real effect. Please don´t get hooked to this lie.
Lots of love!
🙂
Private Member |
Thanks for encouraging words..