Watching this year’s 2017 American Football Superbowl pursuit got me thinking. Every dynasty football team, The New England Patriots, The Dallas Cowboys, The Green Bay Packers and The Pittsburg Steelers just to name a few have all had their fair share of victory. However they have equally had their lion’s share of adversity. Tough times in the form of terrible seasons, heart wrenching losses, injuries and loss of key players are inevitable, that’s the bad news. The good news however is that tough times never last forever.
I bet if you look closely at your family dynamics, your health issues and your professional pursuits you will also find that you had moments worthy of SuperBowl like celebrations and very challenging moments. There are a few realizations that have helped me deal with tough times as a business professional which may help you.
The first is the realization that no tough period is permanent. Think back to ANY tough time that you experienced, and you will see that like everything it eventually didn’t last. I wonder if Nelson Mendela used this to keep his vision alive so that when he was released from prison he went on to become president. Yes even jail for him wasn’t permanent. Sure some of you are going through a tough period financially but realize that no recession ever lasted forever.
The second is that tough periods don’t come without opportunities. Sure you can’t always change your circumstances, the stressful people that accompany them and the extra work that is required of you, but you can change your focus. While most are asking questions like; “why now?” “Why me?” and “How long will this last?” which are not entirely irrelevant they are not to be the primary focus. Instead you want to be extracting opportunity from the situation and the only way you can is if you are looking for opportunity. Questions like how is this advantages right now, how can I learn from this, grow from this? Will lead you to become more versatile, resilient and an adaptable professional. You can’t change your circumstances but you can change the effect they have on you. It is this attitude that will lead to a quantum jump in your professional evolution.
Many of my business friends are taking advantage of the down turn in the financial situation in the UAE at the moment. They are networking more, cherry picking their clients, investing in their long term clients, getting rid of underperforming staff and acquiring staff who are more cost effective and investing in their people. So what are you doing to get tougher during tough times? The lessons and growth you gain from tough times will outlast tough times every time. Look your challenges in the face, extract the lessons and trust that this is just another way your mental toughness will be made stronger.