Kate Iroegbu Redefining Adversity and her Big WHY
Kate Iroegbu is the Director/CEO TriumphInTheMidstofAdversity.com Ltd and also the Bestselling Author, Life Coach, Intl. Public Speaker, Strategic Consultant & A Publisher.
Adversity according to the oxford dictionary is a difficult or unpleasant situation. It is also referred to as misfortune, ill luck, bad luck, trouble, or difficulty. Webster in its revised unabridged dictionary defines adversity as a stroke of ill-fortune, a calamitous event, or a period marked by adversities.
WHY I redefine adversity
I redefined adversity realizing the fact that the dictionary definitions of adversity didn’t do justice to the term – adversity, since most definitions dwelt on only one aspect, and entirely so without focusing on the positives. Most definitions magnified the negative and stopped there.
While the main beneficial factors – the opportunity, the essence of the entire process were denied, and as a consequence, the new beginning adversity birth to humanity was also denied. I felt this wasn’t fair on humanity, and I began to unveil the reason why many crumbled when faced with adversity.
If adversity was entire as conceptualized in the dictionary definitions, it can be a major reason why many do not have the right strategies in dealing with challenging times. And this is why I came up with a redefinition of adversity.
My definition of adversity
Adversity is the process we have to undergo to be strengthened, to make a better version of ourselves and to prepare us for our next level of success towards living a fulfilling life.
Accepting this new definition of adversity, you will agree with me that the difficult situations you go through are only there to strengthen you. An understanding predicated on the fact that adversity is a process, one that has not come to stay, and for which you stand to benefit in the long run if only you can portray the winner mindset.
Do you ask what the winner mindset is? The winner mindset is seeing victory in adversity. And what I mean by this is, for instance, you just received a letter of termination of your job contract.
Instead of dwelling on the now – i.e., no job and envisaging the worst possible outcomes; no money to pay bills, very soon I might not be able to pay my rent or mortgage, etc., you consider this job loss as an opportunity to apply for a higher paying job than the one you lost.
So, you see it as a chance to examine your strengths and weaknesses and whether being an employee is what you truly wanted or you would like to start your own business. What if this could be the chance to get a job that frees you more time to spend with your family? Or a great opportunity to look for a job flexible enough for you to start a business on the side, work full-time, and venture into investments?
I let you in on these perspectives and more in my second book titled “The Best Motivational Book Ever Written,” to become highly productive. It’s a book for 365 days, serving you loads of motivational quotes and wisdom nuggets to help you stay focused, superiorly motivated, and highly productive even when in the midst of the storms. It’s a book that can make you UNSTOPPABLE.
If you are aware that with every challenging situation comes an opportunity, you will be more mindful of your approach. In my first book “Triumph in the Midst of Adversity,” I mentioned that there is an opportunity before any challenge while going through, and after every challenge.
But more often than not, you close your eyes to these opportunities and focus on the problems alone. This is one of the worst ways to take on adversity.
Before I point out the three main reasons many crumble in adversity, always remember
“No matter how painful your situation may be, it has not come to stay. It’s only a work in progress.”
– A quote from “The Best Motivational Book Ever Written.”
The three main reasons many crumble in adversity:
1. Failure to acknowledge your difficulties.
In “Triumph in the midst of adversity”, I highlighted that acknowledging difficulty is your best first step in a challenging situation. But many fail to adhere to this, and by so doing you give situations time to escalate and become more difficult to handle.
2. How you choose to handle your adversity
As humans, going through challenging times is a given. What is not is how you choose to handle them, which will determine your outcomes. The key to successfully facing any challenge is affirming the understanding that every difficult situation brings an opportunity before, during, and even after going through it. It is also important you are aware that your challenges are not there to destroy you or kill you even if the devil meant it for evil. Rather, they come to strengthen you, to make a better version of you, and to prepare you for success.
3. Those you surround yourself with
Whether you realise it or not, who you call friends and the people in your circle have a ripple effect on your state of being. Drawing on personal experience, I have no doubt that the friends you keep will determine how smooth or rough your journey of adversity may be.
If you choose friends who care about you, in challenging times the journey will be smoother. But if you surround yourself with pretentious friends – enemies who stick around you and pretend to be friends, you will not only have a rough journey but one that could also linger for a while because you will be denied the least support you may need to help your situation and overcome it.
The way forward? Apply my eight key strategies to handle adversity in “Triumph in the midst of adversity”, a book that brings you closer to the clarity of mind and solidity of confidence you need to overcome any situation you may find yourself in.
Website- https://www.TriumphInTheMidstOfAdversity.Com
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