quotations about adversity
The discipline to keep going in the face of adversity is what separates the exceptional performers from the rest of the pack. When the road gets rocky and takes some unexpected twists and turns, you can sit by the side, make excuses, and watch others go by. Or you can push on despite the terrain.
JOHN GLENNON
"Desire and Drive: Is it enough?", Kamloops This Week, March 3, 2016
Adversity is the first path to truth.
LORD BYRON
Don Juan
Adversity is never an excuse.
MIKE MAX
"Former Paralympic Swimmer Coaching At Robbinsdale Armstrong High", CBS Minnesota, February 12, 2016
Adversity is like the period of the former and of the latter rain--cold, comfortless, unfriendly to man and to animal; yet from that season have their birth, the flower, and the fruit, the date, the rose, and the pomegranate.
SIR WALTER SCOTT
The Talisman
If we miss the opportunity for growth we waste our adversity and come out on the other side the same.
CLARENCE LEE JR.
"Adversity is Preparation", The Lee Blog
The self-belief and the willingness to confront adversity is what separate the great from the ordinary.
INDRANIL MAJUMDAR
"Rohit and Saha take India to a commanding position", Calcutta Telegraph, October 2, 2016
All character is formed by adversity; but adversity is a very large word, and must be very largely interpreted. So long as it is understood to mean misfortune, external disaster or calamity only, its offices are sure to be misconceived, and its virtue will certainly be missed. Adversity may come in fair forms and bland disguises, seeming to be the very thing it is not. Things adverse are not always things repellent. They may be things attractive, deeply considered. Whatever is adverse, not to our pleasure, enjoyment or happiness merely, but to our virtue; whatever stands over against our better conscience, is opposite to our finest feelings, hostile to our truest principles, is adversity. It is the element of antagonisms, of opposition, of moral assault, let it appear in whatever guise it may. If it provokes our hearts to involuntary resistance, causes reaction and resentment, it is the discipline that educates character. And for this we must be on our guard. The finest characters are educated by struggle with adversity of this kind, by wrestling with powers that seem friendly.
O. B. PROTHINGHAM
"The School of Adversity", The Herald of Health, Aug. 1872
Life is truly known only to those who suffer, lose, endure adversity, and stumble from defeat to defeat.
RYSZARD KAPUSCINSKI
Granta
Adversity is only sand on your track to prevent you from skidding.
CROFT M. PENTZ
1001 Things Your Mother Told You
It's tempting to suppose that adversity is a precursor to strong leadership. But it's not the adversity that foments achievement, it's an individual's response to adversity--their degree of resilience. Resilience, the ability to bounce back after a setback, is an emotional muscle that grows stronger with use. The more frequent and intense the adversity--situations where one is under fire, facing a formidable foe or suffering with hardship--the more one's resilience is tested and fortified. Note the strong relationship between adversity and resilience. Without adversity, our resilience muscles atrophy. If life is too comfortable, we never practice "bouncing back." If we never fail or lose, we miss the confidence-building experience of coming from behind to win.
JOHN ENGELS
"Adversity and resilience can become leadership assets", Rochester Business Journal, January 29, 2016
The uncanny ability to overcome adversity is in the DNA of ... champions.
ROGER GROVES
"Despite Opening Game Loss Notre Dame Is National Championship Material", Forbes, September 5, 2016
With every adversity comes a blessing because a shock acts as a reminder to oneself that we must not get stale in routine.
BRUCE LEE
Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living
Being able to overcome adversity is a great triumph and something to be celebrated. Of course, no one's life will be without difficulty. We should be sure to cherish significant accomplishments in life. However, we must be careful when considering what we will classify as problems and challenges in need of overcoming. While certain characteristics may put a person at a disadvantage in the world as it is today, this does not mean that a certain aspect of their lived experience is the problem itself.
ELIZABETH HASCHER
"The narrative of overcoming", Observer Online, March 2, 2016
The shade of faith and the cloak of true godliness is the best equipage for the storm of adversity.
WILLIAM SCOTT DOWNEY
Proverbs
The dictionary says that adversity is a condition marked by misfortune, a calamity, or an unfortunate event or circumstance. I say that adversity comes in all shapes and sizes, from life-threatening illnesses, to losing a sale, to failing in business, to rocky relationships. Adversity can be many things according to just when it hits you and under what conditions. Whatever it may be for you, if you have suffered setbacks, hardships, or failures, know that you are not alone. Very few things are true all of the time in all situations, but this is a universal truth: Plans do not become achievements, dreams do not become realities, and ideas do not come to fruition without setbacks, hardships, and failures.
BARRY J. FARBER
Diamond Power
That thorny path, those stormy skies, have drawn our spirits nearer; and rendered us, by sorrow's ties, each to the other dearer.
BERNARD BARTON
Not Ours the Vows
Thrive on adversity, train in discomfort, embrace the suck and conquer it.
LU LASTRA
"Mental Toughness: What Exactly Is It?", ShadowSpear Special Operations, March 2, 2016
Adversity is a good thing in the long run if everyone involved understands how it shapes their character, and it brings out the true colors of a team.
BROC THREINEN
"Football preview: Kasson-Mantorville at Lourdes", Post Bulletin, September 30, 2016
There is an elasticity in the human mind, capable of bearing much, but which will not show itself, until a certain weight of affliction be put upon it; its powers may be compared to those vehicles whose springs are so contrived that they get on smoothly enough when loaded, but jolt confoundedly when they have nothing to bear.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON
Lacon
Those who choose to make adversity their friend don't enjoy hardship any more than the next person. But there is a world of difference between those who befriend adversity by overcoming it and learning from the experience, and those who give up at the first sign of an obstacle.... Adversity is going to happen, and usually in ways you could've never foreseen. Knowing this, make a choice right now to look at adversity in a new light the next time it comes your way. Though it may not look so friendly on the surface, realize that adversity is an ally and that it's here to teach you something of crucial importance. Of course it's an unwelcome visitor. But when it presents itself, treat the experience as a unique learning opportunity. Here is your chance to impact positively your human capital development in ways that no seminar, class, or training session can even closely approximate.
J. BARRY GRISWELL & BOB JENNINGS
The Adversity Paradox