I once complained to my friend Mike," I often cycle two miles from my house to the town center but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route." He replied," You mean fortunately." He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided.
My attitude to the hill has now changed. I used to complain as I approached it but now I tell myself the following. This hill will exercise my heart and lungs. It will help me to lose weight and get fit. It will mean that I live longer. This hill is my friend. Finally I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationary exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free. I have a smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill.
Problems are there to be faced and overcome. We cannot achieve anything with an easy life. Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a university degree. Her activism and writing proved inspirational. She wrote," The character cannot be developed with ease. Only through experiences of suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved."
One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards adversity. From time to time we all face hardships, problems, accidents and difficulties. Some are of our making but many are no fault of our own. While we cannot choose adversity, we can choose our attitude towards it.
Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs cut off following a flying accident. He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aviators in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans. He was an inspiration to others during the war. He said," Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you can't do this or that. That's nonsense. Make up your mind, and you'll never use crutches or a stick, and then have a go at everything. Go to school, and join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible."
The biographies of great people are full of examples of how they took steps to overcome the difficulties they faced. The common threat is that they did not become depressed. They chose their attitude. They chose to be positive. They took on the challenge. They won. Nevertheless, there is still the problem of how you change your attitude towards adversity.
