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Adversity by Tim Connor Adversity either brings out the best in you - hidden deep in your soul - or it will take you down with a variety of debilitating emotions or responses. Whether it is a financial, emotional, business, health, or career challenge, it doesn't really matter, the consequences are the same: uncertainty, fear, panic, temporary loss of hope, an abandonment of goals or desires, and a loss of confidence, faith, and trust in yourself or those you are close to. Adversity is necessary to build character, courage, strength, and the will to persevere. If you are to enjoy the successes and achievements life offers you and will cross your path, it is necessary to experience loss, pain, grief, or fear during these challenging times. If your entire life was filled with nothing but success after success, you would certainly become very arrogant and ego-dominated - neither of which are favorable life approaches. Adversity is necessary to soften your humanness so you can have compassion not only for yourself, but others. To have a life without adversity is to live in fantasyland. Sooner or later, adversity strikes its victims (all of us) when they least expect or want it. Adversity can bring people to their knees or it can strengthen their resolve. It can turn an otherwise humble individual into a tiger, and it can cause the strongest souls to cringe in its wake. Why the difference? Adversity is insensitive and neutral to its recipient's reactions or responses. It treats everyone the same. Each of us has the ability to reach down and grab the courage to overcome - sometimes with courage we were not even aware we possessed. We can choose to overcome, or we can choose to give in. The difference lies in a person's character, genes, history, commit- ment, will, and strength of desire. Adversity can be a patient teacher, or it can be a tyrant. Again, the choice is ours. As I look back over a life filled with adversity in every area (not whining folks), I can tell you from personal experience I would not be who I am today had it not been for all of the challenges I have faced through the years. At the time, I resented each and every one of them. Today, in hindsight, they have given me the strength, courage, will, resolve, and patience to carry on in the face of overwhelming odds. I don't know how my life will end, but I know one thing - I would not trade any of the ad- versity I had to deal with for any amount of money, fame, or fortune. How about you? How do you define adversity, and how do you typically respond to it? Learn from it? Deny it? Hide from it? Or face it??? In His service, Tim To receive Tim’s weekly FREE motivational booster articles, contact him at www.timconnor.com with “please add me to your free booster e-mail subscriber list” in the subject line. Or contact him via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com 49 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® JUNE 2017