Life is Full of Bumps in the Road

In the face of adversity and uncertainty, it is so important to remain "mindful" of how much control you have over your life. It's all about perception. What you perceive to be bad, may not be as bad as you think.

One of my clients told me that he has to have cervical surgery, but that at least he's not paralyzed. To put those two thoughts in one sentence tells me that he has accepted his situation and is grateful things are not worse.

Everyone faces adversity at some time or another and there's a lot of emotional turmoil associated with it. You know what you have at stake and sometimes it can be a lot. Anger, fear, helplessness, pain, and disillusionment are some of the feelings you may experience until you are able to find a solution and move forward again.

It's a waste of time to ignore what's going on, because it usually won't go away by itself. Your goal is to resolve the issue you are faced with, head on, so that you can get on with your life.

The good news is that you usually get past your difficulty over time and restore your life to balance and harmony once again. There are lessons to learn along the way and the sooner you learn them, the easier it will be the next time you encounter a crisis. Sometimes you have to experience a similar challenge many times before you finally "get it." This just means you have not learned the necessary skills and must face the problem over and over until you do.

In essence, the ordeal prepares you to succeed in other things in life, as well. You may have the courage to change careers, relocate, end a relationship or revamp your lifestyle. While, on the one hand, change is often good, you don't want to purposefully seek out needless adversity. But when it happens, face it with the perspective that your growth will lead you on a path to success.

Life will continue to give you challenges and lessons. Appreciate the quiet moments of wellbeing when you have them so that the occasional difficulties you encounter will just be another victorious bump in the road.

Amy Sherman, LMHC is the author of Distress-Free Aging: A Boomer's Guide to Creating a Fulfilled and Purposeful Life and 99 Things Women Wish They Knew Before Dating After 40, 50 and Yes, 60!

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