Unstoppable: Embrace Adversity to Guarantee Results

Being Perfect is the Wrong Goal

Once upon a time, I wanted to be perfect. Have a perfect body like I saw on tv. Perfect hair that was thick and frizz-free. Perfect, flawless skin with a line-free tan. Perfectly white, straight teeth.

Then I realized perfect is boring. People actually don’t like perfect. It isolates you and makes people intimidated to interact with you because they have nothing in common with you.

Unless your goal is to win a beauty pageant or be selected as People Magazine’s most beautiful woman, perfection is a barrier to reaching your goals.

Use Your Adversity as an Advantage

You’re probably familiar with the movie Edward Scissorhands. I thought it was pretty creepy, and this is a silly analogy but it gets the point across.

Edward Scissorhands was born into unlikely circumstances. He was an outcast, growing up lonely and odd and unsure of his place in this world.

But much like the rest of us, Edward had to make something of his situation. He had to play the hand he was dealt, so to speak…

One day, while he was looking at an exceptionally unkempt shrub, inspiration struck. Unable to help himself, he transformed the out-of-control foliage into a stunning work of art…then another, and another. Soon, word spread and Edward went from social outcast to hometown hero.

While you and I certainly weren’t born with scissors for fingers, we all possess unique talents that may appear, at first, to be limitations.

When I stopped wishing I was a perfect specimen of a human being, and looked around at who was really successful in this world, I realized it.

Adversity is an advantage, embrace it.

Life threw me a giant wrench I wasn’t expecting, didn’t want, and at times hated, but eventually I saw what a great story it is, and I decided to use it.

Here Are 3 Simple Ways You Can Find Advantage in Your Adversity

1) Embrace Your Adversity by Accepting Your Differences

I’m going to let you in on a little secret…you’re not like the other kids. Even the cool kids who everyone looks up to feel like they’re nothing special. The truth is, none of us are or ever were “like everyone else” until we try to conform and ignore who we really are. As soon as you stop trying to hide your differences and start embracing them, they become your strengths. It’s okay to be different. In fact, it’s essential.

2) Embrace Your Adversity by Exploring Your Uniqueness

Now that you’ve accepted your differences, run with them. Explore all the ways that you can use your unique traits and limitations to do things that others don’t. Michael Phelps is an oddly proportioned human being, but his slender frame and large feet make him a great swimmer. What can you do with your oddities?

3) Embrace Your Adversity by Not Getting Discouraged

There will always be those who think you’re crazy, and plenty of people who can’t see your potential. Don’t let their opinions control what you do. No one can see your vision except you, so it’s your job to pursue it until it’s realized and can no longer be denied. Embracing your differences and doing something with them makes you great. Trying to fit in just makes you mediocre. Keep striving for excellence in your own weird way.

Edward Scissorhands would have made a horrible massage therapist, but he was spectacular at landscaping and design. He found a way to utilize his limitations in service to others, and in so doing, found love, success and fulfillment.

How can YOU Rethink Your Limitations? How does the adversity you’ve experienced give you an advantage?

Discover it. Embrace it. Become unstoppable.

 

-Jenna Lee, RD