7 Steps to Take Now if You’re Facing Terrifying Adversity
by Danny Forest
1. Don’t Lie to Yourself
1.1. To overcome adversity, you must first admit your struggle; there’s no shame in acknowledging it.
1.2. Only then will you look for solutions, seek help, and open yourself up to new ideas.
1.3. Embrace reality, no matter how dire. You will never achieve progress or victory until you’re honest with yourself.
2. Eliminate Comfort Habits
2.1. Complaining and blaming creates emotional satisfaction and eases the not-okayness.
2.2. Complaining and blaming, however, monopolize brainpower.
2.2.1. Instead of climbing out of your grave, you let the dirt pile in.
2.3. Avoid this urge and focus on improving your situation.
3. Don’t Pretend You’re a Superhuman
3.1. Real friends should be happy to offer advice and guidance.
3.2. For anyone else, offer something in return. If you don’t have money to offer, then barter or donate your time.
3.3. Avoid asking people to do things for you.
3.4. If someone offers to make a connection, then accept it; don’t let pride get in the way.
3.5. If you put people in uncomfortable positions, they will dodge your calls and ignore your emails.
4. Reinvent Yourself as Needed
4.1. It’s reassuring to stick with what you know, even if it no longer serves you.
4.2. Don’t be afraid to ditch a career of twenty years if there’s no longer demand for it.
4.3. When you lose a job, career, business, or relationship, it hurts.
4.4. But it’s also an opportunity to remake yourself both professionally and personally.
5. Position Yourself to Serve Others
5.1. Seek to fulfil the needs of others, and you will find opportunities.
5.2. Adaptability and flexibility are the traits that will serve you best in times of adversity.
6. Be Tenacious and Daring
6.1. If you’re a nice person, adversity presents another challenge.
6.1.1. You don’t want to piss people off. You don’t want others to think you’re troublesome.
6.2. Asserting yourself feels risky at times, but it’s essential to earning respect.
6.3. Playing it safe rarely works.
6.4. You need to take chances to achieve a goal.
7. Separate Your Current State From Your Self-Worth
7.1. Never conflate your self-worth with your current state.
7.2. Don't think:
7.2.1. "I’ve been out of the market for too long. I can’t be so demanding."
7.2.2. "I’m broke. I should take whatever I can get."