Perspective, Pounce, Propel: How to Adjust to Life’s Curve Balls

We all face adversity in our lives. The difference is in how you approach it.  If you’re willing to look past the challenge and have the determination to overcome it, you can achieve more than you ever dreamed was possible.

Today’s post is by Patricia Walsh, author of BLIND AMBITION: How To Envision Your Limitless Potential And Achieve The Success You Want.

In 1986 I lost my vision due to a pediatric brain tumor. I lost my vision completely out of my right eye and retained a 5 degree tunnel of light perception out of my left. At the age of 15 I knew I would have to face real adversity head on if I were going to make anything of myself.

I have gone on to be the world record holder for blind and low vision athletes in the ironman distance triathlon, I have a successful career in engineering, as well as being the 4 x National Champion for sprint distance triathlon. People ask me how I have overcome. I always find this question confusing. I have not overcome blindness. I am now and always will be blind. I have however learned to own the experience and embrace the ever changing challenges.

The maxims I live by when things get hard are as follows:

Perspective – this won’t kill you

Pounce – maintain a willingness to fail gracefully

Propel – I wouldn’t trust someone who hadn’t been challenged

Perspective

This past April I learned of a serious medical condition of my father. I went to his aid in Michigan. We are never quite ready for the prospect of losing a parent. While I was away from home I learned that my apartment had been burnt down by arson. I felt all my hard work to create a secure stable life had just crumbled. I had believed I had built an empire only to discover I had built an elaborate sand castle just before a swell prepared to reclaim the grains. I who speak to resiliency found myself facing adversity with a ferocity that I had never known.

From a bird’s eye view it appeared that my life was in shambles. I was trying to keep it together by maintaining focused effort. Throughout my darkest hour I missed only one day of workouts. I remembered that in order to maximize positive displacement, or achievement towards goals the key would be consistent work over time.

When I felt like I had nothing left to give I made the attempt to power through. I found myself at the gym feeling shattered. I was murmuring to myself “Everything is going to be ok”. I had resorted to trying to make myself believe that soon this will all be in the past. A random stranger heard my murmur and answered my prayer. He approached me and rather than offering me another inspirational platitude he said “Honey, I don’t know what is going on, but I am pretty certain that it won’t kill you.” He was right. I took tremendous comfort in realizing that this may be hard, this may challenge me at every level, but this won’t kill me.

How can you apply this principle? Admit the challenge, embrace the emotional impact that is inevitable, and power through all the same. Life throws us curve balls, sometimes they hit us straight on between the eyes, and we still can make the choice to power through… because it isn’t going to kill us. When those curve balls hit don’t waste time sugar coating, just do whatever you can to reclaim perspective.

Pounce

You never reach a point where you have overcome all the obstacles. Adversity will always be poised and ready to reintroduce herself. So often I feel overwhelmed with the fear of failure; fear that my capability will prove to be less than required for the challenge at hand. This presents itself in a fear of success.

When presented with the next rung of the ladder you feel anxiety or intimidation at the thought that you will be the one to advance. Coasting is always the easy way out. You can always maintain without taking on new challenges. That will get you exactly nowhere toward your goals. I know for myself I’d prefer to see some forward momentum toward my ambitions. As such we all need to be ready to pounce on the next opportunity to drive ourselves forward.

This posture requires a willingness to fail gracefully. With every challenge I am wholly aware that this may not work out. I make a choice on each incident that I’d rather risk failure than guarantee stagnancy. I do not today know what I am capable of. I do not know what I am not capable of. I will only know my own limitations if I continue to seek those limits.

How can you apply this principle? Choosing to live life with a willingness to fail gracefully is living with the understanding that even if things don’t work out, this will not kill you, and you will live to put the pieces back together. Since adopting a willingness to fail gracefully I have excelled in all facets of my life. No one will help you more than you can help yourself. When an opportunity presents itself be ready to pounce.

Propel

If you want to be trusted be trustworthy. Adversity provides all of us opportunities to discover talents that may have otherwise lain dormant. Challenges are our opportunities to learn about ourselves, cultivate depth of relationships, and cultivate new skill sets. At those lowest moments when I am challenged at my core I remind myself that I wouldn’t necessarily trust someone who hadn’t been challenged.

Taking the easy way out won’t serve to help anyone in the long term. Taking on each challenge as an opportunity to live up to your core values is your chance to prove to the world that you are trustworthy in all circumstances. I wouldn’t trust someone who had always taken the easy way out.

How can you apply this principle? Prove that you are trustworthy by taking on challenges with a willingness to fail gracefully and armed with the assurance that as hard as this may be; it won’t kill you. Forward motion is the maximal displacement due to consistent work over time. Living to your core values and establishing a foundation of trust even in a state of adversity will serve to propel you forward towards your goals. This is a way to cultivate working relationships, reputation, and your self-identity as someone with strength and character.

I will never tell you that I’m thankful to be blind, or that I am thankful to have experienced a fickle friendship with adversity. That being said I will tell you that I’ve cultivated a skill set to maximize the potential positives of adversity. I live every day to live to my maxims of maintaining perspective no matter how hopeless things may feel; living ready to take a bet on myself or pounce on any opportunity that may present, as well as to do everything in my power to propel myself towards my highest level goals.

I am not going to waste any time or energy pretending my life experience is anything that it isn’t. What I am going to do is fuel the fire of achievement by continuing to embrace adversity and grow from each experience.

Patricia Walsh became partially blind at age five and lost the rest of her sight at age fourteen. Today, Walsh is a world champion triathlete, award-winning engineer, and author of BLIND AMBITION: How To Envision Your Limitless Potential And Achieve The Success You Want. Please visit www.blindambitionspeaking.com for additional information.

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