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Adversity

Facing AdversityREPOST

REPOST: Facing Adversity Series

by Ron Potter
A Note From the Editor:
As we recently mentioned, we are reposting popular blog posts while Ron is recovering from some health issues. This series from last year might be a good one to revisit.

Facing Adversity

How do we face adversity? This is a difficult one for me to write.  Mainly because I’ve been in my own set of adversities.  Over the last several weeks I have been back in the hospital and had further operations as I deal with my inherited liver disease.  But, I’m not the only one.  I’ve seen several of my friends deal with

  • Cancer that requires infusions several times a month for the rest of his life.
  • Irritable bowel syndrome—that can put another friend in the hospital at any moment.
  • Parkinson’s disease.
  • Loss of a long-time spouse.

Adversity can touch any of us at any time. So how do we deal with it?

Continue reading the first post here.

Or consider how these categories map to the types of regret Daniel Pink discusses.

This post was originally posted here in early 2022.
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BlogCultureFacing Adversity

Afflicted in Every Way

by Ron Potter

This is from a text written over 2,000 years ago.  A partial reading of the text says that we are afflicted in every way, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down.

No One Is Left Out

Notice that we text says “we.”  All of us.  No one is left out.  No one is not afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, struck down.

Think of these in terms of teams and leaders.  Webster defines it as grievously affected or troubled.  Have you ever felt grievously affected or troubled as a leader or team member?  You’re not alone.  And it may not be the only time.

The text simply says that we will be afflicted.  It doesn’t narrow the definition to a person, to a moment in time, or to particular circumstances.  It simply says we will be afflicted.  Webster’s definition talks about being grievously afflicted.  The term grievous talks of something bad, very severe, or serious.

Even if we restrict our definition to seriousness, it can be crushing.  For example, have you ever sat in a team meeting, as either a member or the leader, and dealt with an issue that seems inevitable with no way to overcome the circumstances?

No Avoidance

These can be difficult moments with no way to avoid the bad, severe, or serious outcome.  We may be faced with market conditions that we didn’t see coming or we are totally unprepared to deal with.  In those moments we can feel grievously afflicted.  We may take it as a result of our own doing or shortsightedness of what is happening in the marketplace.

I wrote a blog a few weeks ago about the tendency of humans to see in straight lines.  Our assumption is that if things are going well they’ll continue to get better.  If things are going poorly there seems to be no way to recover.  However, things will change.  Yet it can make us feel grievously afflicted along the way.

If there is no real way to avoid this feeling, how do we cope with it?  First, remember that we will all be afflicted one way or another sooner or later.  The ancient text says we will be afflicted regardless of circumstances.  If that is the case, state it.  Sharing that feeling with others helps us all cope.  Once you identify the affliction, work together for a united solution.  It may not be the best solution and it may not bring about fully satisfying results, but it’s a united solution and one that we can work together to create.  Going to work on a solution helps us get past the affliction.

Affliction Solution

I worked with one company that had been an industry leader for over a hundred years.  Because that was the case and they were thinking in straight lines, they didn’t see the industry changes on the horizon.  By the time they realized it, the industry had shifted and, in the end, they ended up with about 40% of the success that had experienced for years.  Many people on the team felt personally afflicted.  But, once they started working together on a solution, they began to talk about how they had 40% of the industry.  Companies would give almost anything for that kind of market share.  Even though it was a huge blow to the history of the company, it was still larger than any company in the industry.  Not really too bad in today’s market.

You will be afflicted.  It may relate to business life or personal life, but it will happen.  The sooner you can name it and work toward a united solution the better.  The affliction will dissipate (until the next one hits).  We will be afflicted.  Expect it.  Prepare for it.

Read the next post in the series.
Facing Adversity
Afflicted in Every Way
Perplexed
Persecuted
Struck Down
Ancient Text
Regrets—Text to Corinthians
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BlogCultureFacing Adversity

Facing Adversity

by Ron Potter

How do we face adversity? This is a difficult one for me to write.  Mainly because I’ve been in my own set of adversities.  Over the last several weeks I have been back in the hospital and had further operations as I deal with my inherited liver disease.  But, I’m not the only one.  I’ve seen several of my friends deal with

  • Cancer that requires infusions several times a month for the rest of his life.
  • Irritable bowel syndrome—that can put another friend in the hospital at any moment.
  • Parkinson’s disease.
  • Loss of a long-time spouse.

Adversity can touch any of us at any time. So how do we deal with it?

Glass Half Full

As my friends and I were talking the other day it became obvious that each of us was more concerned about the others.  This seemed to be the true definition of friendship.  While each of us was dealing with our own issue we seemed to be more concerned about others’ issues.  Each of us was in a good mood—laughing, joking, and lifting each other up.  It was that humor and lifting each other up that helped each of us work through our individual issues.  A glass half full adds a lot to everyone’s life.

We’re Not the Only One

That conversation also reminded me that I wasn’t alone. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to focus on the conflicts from an ancient document.  This seems to indicate that each of us deals with these conflicts.  There is no escaping from the conflicts that we face in life.  They have been around forever.  If we think we shouldn’t deal with these conflicts, we’re just kidding ourselves.  Every human being has dealt with them throughout history.

Be Prepared

If we list them and name them and understand them at least we have a better chance of dealing with our own conflicts and helping others deal with their conflicts.  Let’s list them.  Let’s be prepared for them.  Let’s not assume that we shouldn’t face them.  We all will.  How we deal with them will make all the difference for ourselves and others.

Read the next post in the series.
Facing Adversity
Afflicted in Every Way
Perplexed
Persecuted
Struck Down
Ancient Text
Regrets—Text to Corinthians
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BlogTrust Me

Adversity and Discouragement

by Ron Potter

photo-1431887915357-68b819fae322

“A man stopped to watch a Little League baseball game. He asked one of the youngsters what the score was. ‘We’re losing 18-0’ was the answer.
‘Well,’ said the man. ‘I must say you don’t look discouraged.’
‘Discouraged?’ the boy said, puzzled. ‘Why should we be discouraged? We haven’t come to bat yet.’ ”

Discouraged? Hardly. The boy was holding strong to the hope that his team could overcome any deficit. He was holding strong to his convictions.
No matter what the source may be, discouragement and adversity have a purpose:

  • to deal with our pride
  • to get our attention
  • to get us to change our behavior
  • to prepare us for future service

There are some wrong responses to adversity and discouragement, and they cause bitterness, doubt, depression, and hopelessness. But holding strong produces some right responses:

  • We gain our team’s trust because our actions match our intentions.
  • We focus on seeing things through rather than abandoning our values or vision.
  • We rely on God for the ability to endure.

We want you to build courage and persevere, to realize the sweet taste of standing strong for the long haul. Endurance.

No matter what the source may be, discouragement and adversity have a purpose: to deal with our pride, to get our attention, to get us to change our behavior, and to prepare us for the future.

Dogged endurance is an important quality, but if it is directed down the wrong path, it can damage people, teams, and organizations. To endure, a leader must build on a foundation of humility, trust, compassion, commitment, focus, and integrity. Without holding firm to the other seven attributes on your way to endurance, you can never be assured that you are staying on the true and right path.
Have you developed a leadership style (one that includes humility, trust, compassion, and integrity of a Trust-Me leader) that has equipped you to endure? If not, where has the process broken down for you? What steps do you need to take to change your style?

tlc-meme-15

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BlogTrust Me

Holding Strong

by Ron Potter

For two years scientists sequestered themselves in an artificial environment called Biosphere. Inside their self-sustaining community, the Biospherians created a number of mini-environments, including a desert, a rain forest, even an ocean. Nearly every weather condition could be simulated except one, wind.

Over time the effects of their windless environment became apparent. A number of acacia trees bent over and even snapped. Without the stress of wind to strengthen the wood, the trunks grew weak and could not hold up their own weight.

Holding strong and enduring as a leader requires some “wind.” Adversity gives leaders an opportunity to strengthen themselves, discover what they believe, and communicate their vision and values to other people. There will be difficult times, but the difficult times—the windy days—help leaders grow stronger in their roles and in their faith and trust.

Holding strong comes with the turf. If you are standing strong for values and vision and for being a better leader, you will experience persecution and times of discouragement, adversity, and frustration.

Holding strong is a process. This is when a mentor can be so helpful by coming alongside the leader and objectively pointing out ways and opportunities to hold strong over an extended period of time.

Holding strong is also a journey. Doing the right thing can be stressful, complicated, and time-consuming, but ultimately, it brings fulfillment. Leaders need to focus on the small victories gained along the way. The journey builds character and confidence. The journey is rewarded when a leader sees the growth of his or her people, the growth of the business, and the achievement of the task.

After a career working at several jobs (railroad fireman, insurance salesman, Ohio River steamboat operator, and tire salesman), a forty-year-old man began cooking for hungry travelers who came by his service station in Corbin, Kentucky. He didn’t have a restaurant, so he served his eager customers on his own dining table in the adjoining living quarters.

It wasn’t long before more and more people came by to sample his food, so he moved his business across the street to a motel and restaurant. There he spent nine years serving customers and perfecting his special recipe for fried chicken.

In the 1950s “progress” caused the new highway to run around Corbin, and the man’s business ended. By this time he had retired and was living on his monthly $105 Social Security check. He began going from restaurant to restaurant, cooking his famous chicken. If the owners liked the recipe, a handshake agreement gave the restaurant the recipe in exchange for a nickel for every chicken dinner sold.

By 1964 this little endeavor had become a sizable business. The man, Colonel Harland Sanders, had licensed over six hundred franchises to cook his tasty chicken recipe. Ready to retire again, he sold his interest for two million dollars and became a spokesperson for the company. “In 1976, an independent survey ranked the Colonel as the world’s second most recognizable celebrity.”

Colonel Sanders did not allow himself to be defeated. He held strong and was not overcome by discouragement. How can we develop a similar attitude toward adversity?

team-leadership-culture-meme-6-1

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