ADVERSITY TRAINING ONE BLOG POST AFTER ANOTHER

Adversity training comes from two sources: Those who have faced adversity, and those who will face adversity.

Pro Tip: We all face adversity.

How we deal with it tells others who we are.

While I’m not an adversity trainer, or in adversity training, I am a man and therefore qualified to add senseless context to the idea.

Former U.S. President ‘Silent Cal’ Coolidge was once quoted, “If you don’t say anything, no one asks you to repeat it.”

Another quote:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not: unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

Persistence and determination don’t have a price tag. You can’t shop for it, scroll for it, or find it on amazon.

Instead, you live it, learn it, and pass it on.

Growing Up With Adversity

This is for all the second born kids out there. Having an older sibling is the start of living an adversity life.

Not only were they first, they’re bigger and smarter and probably a family favorite forever.

The second born, if they’ve got the guts to try, are always playing catch-up.

In a perfect world the older sibling passes down their knowledge. In the world we live in, that’s not always the case.

What happens when the family star switches from groovy longhaired stoner to paranoid recluse who finds comfort wearing a red hat and complaining about how unfairly they’ve been treated?

Does the second born get a promotion to #1?

No, no they don’t.

My Adversity Training Schedule

First, grow up in a small town. If that’s not possible, research where you grew up. It started as a small town. They all do.

Every small town has a hated rival. Take the rivalry to heart and make it your own. Your town is better than the rival town. If it’s not better at the moment, it’s been better in the past, or will be in the future. Do what you can to make it better now.

My hated rival town had grown men in the eighth grade who drove log trucks to school, worked the swing shift in the local sawmills, and kicked ass in sports.

Adolescents living in the rival town shaved early, graduated early, and started families early while the rest of us were still figuring out why girls liked skeevy pirates who popped the clutch in a hopped up Chevy truck instead of the guys popping wheelies on Sting Ray bikes.

Adversity training wants you to find the middle ground for a happier outcome. Middle ground, the place to learn and grow, is like a nondescript Toyota Camry that needs an oil change and a wash.

Find The Right Partner For A Second Born

Ideally, a second born’s partner is also a second born. It works best when their older sibling is an unstable kook who never got over ‘the one that got away.’

They stopped looking, stopped trying to find the ‘real one.’ What they want most is someone like their mom and dad who made every accommodation, every excuse, for the kooky behavior.

Except they loathe their parents for how they turned out. “It’s not my fault, it’s theirs.”

The second born partner knows better. They accept themselves, their decisions, and the consequences. And they pay better attention to things around them.

Life experience has made them resilient. They’ve read books, read the writing on the wall, and even wrote a few things. They know their privilege, their advantage, and keep it in perspective.

If we choose wisely, they will be better people than us, too. Why is that important? Think ‘Role Model.’ If not for you, think of the kids.

Settle In The Right Town

Town, or city, find the sweet spot and get started on a new rivalry.

Tigard has a natural rival in neighboring Tualatin. This is a good one because Tualatin kids used to attend Tigard High School before they got their own. Both towns share one school district.

Once Tualatin High School came on line, some Tigard kids opted to go there. Eventually the school maxed out and division lines were set, which improved the rivalry.

Adding to the Tigard rival advantage is Lake Oswego, a destination town with money and a lake. The Lakers used to be seen as soft, country club puds, but that changed when they started collecting state championships in football and basketball.

Nothing says respect more than the willingness to pound adversaries at the end of the season.

Find your special Tigard and get started.

Be A Sports Fan Of The Right Team

Take the Dallas Cowboys, for example. The Green Bay Packers beat them in the playoffs before the first two Super Bowls in NFL history, making them the perfect team for adversity training.

Their string of wins and losses over time is heartbreaking. The last second field goal by the Colts and the last second dropped pass in the end zone resulting in two Super Bowl losses made the Cowboys look snake-bit.

Today they are an even better adversity choice because they draw more attention than any other team with a thirty-six year Super Bowl drought. How ’bout them Cowboys?

2

For basketball season, the Portland Trail Blazers are the one choice. After winning it all in 1977, the Blazers have been back in the finals twice. Once against the Detroit Pistons from the Bad Boy era, and once against Michael Jordan’s Bulls.

The Blazers had a great team, but they faced immortals on the hardwood.

Today the team has players who made it to the conference finals one time and now struggle to find their footing in the west.

Will they flounder and waste the entire career of the Best Blazer Ever in Damian Lillard? Or will they find a way to rebuild into championship contention.

Under the stewardship of an imported General Manager from Los Angeles, the Blazers are destined to play second fiddle at best.

Adjusting Attitudes For Better Results In Adversity Training

ACDC said it best with: “It’s a long way to the top of you want to Rock and Roll.”

Just know it’s a long way to the top of anything worth pursuing. That’s where persistence and determination come in.

Pick your battles and gather your strength and show your true colors.

Winning doesn’t make you a winner, but persistence does. As long as you make a consistent effort on any task or project, you are winning.

No matter how harsh the judgement on your ideas of excellence, if you stick to it, you are winning.

If you’re reading this blog, you’re making me feel like a winner.

And let me tell you, it’s a feeling money can’t buy.