Does facing adversity and failure strengthen an individual or hinder their potential?
One play was all it took. One second I'm running a practice drill and then next I'm looking up at my coach's face towering over me as I lay crippled on the gym floor. Tears are streaming down my face and I feel a piercing pain in my right knee. Little do I know that collision, along with one other injury in the coming year, will contribute surgeries #7 and #8 for me; as well as end my career as a basketball player.
These battle wounds that lead to my basketball downfall try my sanity and present great adversity to my previously trial-less life. My identity was found in basketball, and now I am haunted by the words of my doctor that tell me it's time to throw in the towel. My body can't handle high contact sports. Those words themselves delivered what felt like the hardest blow I had ever felt, worse than when I blew my ACL. I fell a victim to adversity and I didn't know what I did to deserve this.
Now that I look back at the trials I faced- both physical and emotional- and the strength in character that they gave birth to, I am thankful for each and every one. Had I not had those struggles I would not be who I am today. Not only do I have a good idea of my future career (a physical therapist), but I also can empathize and encourage others that go through trials- related or unrelated to my own. I have a greater drive to explore things outside of my comfort zone and I know that I am not defined by my genetic mutations.
There are many movies, songs, and articles that this question relates to. One example being the song Beauty Will Rise by Steven Curtis Chapman's who's lyrics read "Out of these ashes...beauty will rise." I take that to mean that only after we've been knocked down, can we truly rise up and be victorious. A thought that Steve Jobs, CEO/Chairman of Apple is well aware of. He was fired before making Apple the moneymaking machine it is today. He hit rock bottom and learned from his mistakes, Jobs is now considered to be a modern day Thomas Edison and one of the greatest thinkers of our time. Throughout society and history you can see that some of the most successful businessmen/women are ones that experienced great trials and failure. Success is a choice, and how you choose to respond to failure can make or break you.
