Life is full of beauty, and it’s also peppered with challenges! Are you the type of person who looks at adversity and caves into it? Or do you put a plan of action into place so you can view the problem through the lens of thriving through adversity?
Acceptance: Willing to tolerate a difficult or unpleasant decision.
I’d broken my ankle, and we were still two miles from the nearest transportation in the Southern Utah Desert. I was scared and beginning to play in my mind the next few weeks — business travel to New York, a VIP shopping day in two weeks. How would I handle it? Wait! Stop! I needed to stay in the moment and remember I had the opportunity to accept this hiccup in life. As always I knew there was an insight to gain, but what was it? It is not always easy to accept things, but truly it is just a decision. There was no turning back, so I once I had accepted my injury and all that went with it, it was time to amp up my attitude.
Attitude: I see this as self-confidence manifested by behavior.
I’m sitting there on a jagged red rock in the only shade we can find. My hiking guide Nick had wrapped my ankle and gingerly propped it up on his backpack. I began to be embarrassed as I realized the scope of the rescue. About an hour later, eight search and rescue team members showed up with their all-terrain vehicle and a stretcher. As they strapped me to the bright yellow hard stretcher, I began to laugh. There was a group pause and because I was laughing, they laughed, too. I asked them to join me in making this situation comical and it was ON! Six of them carried me down a steep embankment with jagged rock and barrel cactus on all sides. We were laughing so hard at one point they had to stop so they could gather themselves. Then they strapped me onto the back of their vehicle (think souped-up dune buggy) and off we went. It took us an hour to go two miles because the landscape was so rough, but we laughed all the way. I was doing the voice-over for Mater from Cars as we bumped our way through.
Ask: To make a request for.
I had accepted the situation and chosen an attitude of humor, and now it was time to ask for help. It’s hard wired in me to motor through adversity which makes me feel like I’m bothering others when I ask for help. It seems we have the hardest time asking for help in the times we need it most. We are concerned we may overstep a friendship or impose on others. We all have gifts to share and most people love to share them, so I swallowed my pride and allowed my family and friends to offer their support. I accepted every one of their offers. It’s been 10 days since my injury and I am thriving through the healing process.
The next time you are faced with a challenge, you can apply the 3 A’s. Accept the situation, and begin to put a game plan in place. Choose an attitude that gets you out of problem mode and into the solution — even it’s simply choosing to make the situation the best it can be. Finally, ask for help from others, and fully and openly receive it. You will serve them in the process.
Think of a challenge in your life. You can apply the 3 A’s so you can look back at the adversity and feel good about how you faced it with a sense of accomplishment and growth.