I am sitting on a sailing yacht in a marina in Croatia (which does give a certain perspective on office work) on a warm and calm afternoon watching other boats arrive and moor. Yet a couple of days ago I was up on the foredeck in a force 5 wind with the yacht bouncing up and down in a heavy sea trying to unjam the roller reefing gear on the genoa (a large sail at the front of the boat) in order that we could reduce sail. A southerly storm had arrived without warning half way to our destination – a consequence of global warning according to the port authorities at the next harbour we eventually reached, who had also been taken by surprise by the strong winds.
It makes me think about the way things change for better or worse over the course of your working life, driven by changed circumstances, businesses, colleagues and clients. Sometimes it really seems like you are in a storm at sea with events unfolding around you that cannot be controlled. At times like these all you can do is rely on your knowledge and experience to fix things, and recognise that events will eventually turn around more in your direction.
The island we eventually arrived at was Vis was colonised by the Greeks in 397 BC. The Greek philosopher Epictetus (about 55 to 135 AD) said The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.
The art I suspect is to develop whatever skills you have as best you can and then and then to have faith in yourself and your ability to ride out adverse circumstances and indeed to learn from them. Here is an article Ten Ways Successful People Push through Adversity which suggests that successful people have found a way to jump hurdles and navigate around roadblocks that would stop others completely.
Here is a Harvard Business Review Article How to Bounce Back from Adversity which advises Whatever your initial reaction, however, the challenge is to turn a negative experience into a productive one—that is, to counter adversity with resilience.I also like this Forbes article Master the Ability to Thrive on Adversity which cites Tiger Woods success in winning a 5th Masters title after being out of the game for a number of years with a debilitating back injury. It also says My official definition for mental toughness is the mind's ability to focus on solutions, especially in the face of adversity. You know you are mentally tough when you can thrive on adversity.
As the arch advocate of dealing with extreme adversity Winston Churchill said A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
To stay with the historical theme common to many of the Croatian islands we are exploring by boat as the Roman poet Horace (65 BC - 8 BC) wrote Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.
Coming back up to date Michelle Obama also sagely commented You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it's important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.
I am still pleased to see the weather forecast for the rest of our sailing looks good!
It makes me think about the way things change for better or worse over the course of your working life, driven by changed circumstances, businesses, colleagues and clients. Sometimes it really seems like you are in a storm at sea with events unfolding around you that cannot be controlled. At times like these all you can do is rely on your knowledge and experience to fix things, and recognise that events will eventually turn around more in your direction.
The island we eventually arrived at was Vis was colonised by the Greeks in 397 BC. The Greek philosopher Epictetus (about 55 to 135 AD) said The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.
The art I suspect is to develop whatever skills you have as best you can and then and then to have faith in yourself and your ability to ride out adverse circumstances and indeed to learn from them. Here is an article Ten Ways Successful People Push through Adversity which suggests that successful people have found a way to jump hurdles and navigate around roadblocks that would stop others completely.
Here is a Harvard Business Review Article How to Bounce Back from Adversity which advises Whatever your initial reaction, however, the challenge is to turn a negative experience into a productive one—that is, to counter adversity with resilience.I also like this Forbes article Master the Ability to Thrive on Adversity which cites Tiger Woods success in winning a 5th Masters title after being out of the game for a number of years with a debilitating back injury. It also says My official definition for mental toughness is the mind's ability to focus on solutions, especially in the face of adversity. You know you are mentally tough when you can thrive on adversity.
As the arch advocate of dealing with extreme adversity Winston Churchill said A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
To stay with the historical theme common to many of the Croatian islands we are exploring by boat as the Roman poet Horace (65 BC - 8 BC) wrote Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.
Coming back up to date Michelle Obama also sagely commented You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it's important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.
I am still pleased to see the weather forecast for the rest of our sailing looks good!
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