Resilience in Adversity: Lessons from the Ring
I recently listened to a podcast where the host interviewed Mike Tyson. Surprisingly, he offered some profound insights. Arguably, no one had a rise and fall quite like Mike, so his perspective is uniquely valuable.
One thing that really resonated with me was his view on adversity. As he puts it, “Adversity makes the strong stronger and the weak weaker.” Inevitably, life hits everyone on the chin and you end up hitting the canvas—that is just a fact. In a lot of ways, that’s just where the story starts. Much like a boxing match, the referee of life will start the count… do you let the count get to 10 or do you, against all odds, pick yourself up off the canvas?
Through the journey of life, I have learned so much of it comes down to how you CHOOSE to respond to adversity. When you have no control over a situation, and the adversity seems insurmountable, how do you CHOOSE to respond? Adversity makes the strong stronger!
It’s important to note, there’s no value in comparing your own battles to someone else’s. Someone else’s crisis might seem minor to you, or vice versa, but comparison can diminish our compassion. Remember, each of us feels the weight of our own struggles more intensely because they are our own. The real question is, how do you react to YOUR adversity?
If you’ve followed my previous blogs, you know that much of the past year has been devoted to building a business. There were countless times I felt like giving up, yet I knew quitting wasn’t an option. My mentality has always been about endurance—how much can I take and still push through? You’ll have to scrape me off the canvas before I let life count me out.
The best way to overcome adversity is to start strong. Like maintaining health to ward off illness, mental strength involves a quiet confidence in oneself and a resolve to always bet on yourself, no matter the odds. Adversity will reveal our true nature: “The strong will get stronger and the weak will get weaker.” Choose to stay strong.
Thanks for reading. Cheers.
