* 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… 

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!