Opinions expressed by ukbusinessupdates.com contributors are their own.
Most of us go through life not knowing or finding meaning in our existence or why we are here. We worry about trivial matters, emphasize irrelevant consequences, and often act without empathy or kindness. Successful people, like Stephen Hawking, have used adversity to find purpose and success. Hawking used his illness to find meaning and solve some of humanity’s most complex problems.
What makes these successful people different? How do some people find the strength to pull themselves together after experiencing devastating personal circumstances? Shortly after I started my graduate studies at Imperial College London, Stephen Hawking gave a lecture on black holes and the quantum world. I was always very impressed by his life story.
Hawking credits his illness for driving him to excel in science: “Before my condition was diagnosed, I was very bored with life,” he said. “There seemed to be nothing worth doing.”
During his life, Hawking faced physical and emotional obstacles that would normally break most people. He married and divorced twice, became estranged from three children and gradually lost control of his body. He completely used a wheelchair in 1971 at the age of 29 and lost the ability to speak in 1985, requiring 24-hour nursing. Stephen passed away in 2018, following his recognition as one of history’s greatest minds. He was the author of fifteen books, including: A brief history in time, Universe in a nutshell, and The big design.
Related: 7 Worthy Takeaways From Stephen Hawking’s Work To Make The Most Of Your Time
Famous people who overcome adversity
Stories of famous people overcoming serious adversities are well known, but are often characterized as extraordinary, unlike ordinary people who often have congruent life stories. We excuse our shortcomings by claiming an unmarried mother. She became one of the richest women in the world, was born with exceptional charisma (Oprah Winfrey) or a sports star who was cut from his high school team and later becomes the “goat” of his sport had the advantage of incredible athleticism (Michael Jordan ). Our premise is wrong. The only setback that limits our performance is ourselves.
Millions of people face adversity every day – death, disability, illness, heartbreak – and go on with their lives bruised but rarely broken. They are ordinary people – colleagues, neighbors and acquaintances – who face tragedy and disappointment privately and with difficulty. Nevertheless, they persist and triumph in making the world a better place.
Related: The Elon Musk Way to Persist in the Face of Adversity
Ordinary people turn adversity into triumph
Unfortunately, setbacks happen in our lives. Each person chooses how to deal with the adversities in his life. Let’s learn from the following examples of people using their experiences to build a better life for themselves:
Cheryl Hunter. While traveling abroad, she was drugged, kidnapped and brutally raped at the age of 18 2020 People magazine interviewshe noted, “When something has happened that is shocking, traumatic, unwanted and unexpected, there is no going back to life as it was. The door has been opened and can never be closed again. There is no more bell.”
Cheryl now works as a motivational speaker, encouraging others to use forgiveness and acceptance to atone for the scars of tragedy. Today she guides victims to integrate lessons from their experiences.
Isaac Lidsky. A former child actor on the television series Saved by the bell: The new classIsaac lost his eyesight at the age of 25. According to him, the loss of his eyesight showed him that we shape our reality by what we think. He counsels us that we can overcome obstacles and tragedies by choosing to make our reality. He said, “blindness gave me vision.” Today, Aaron is CEO of Florida’s largest housing company.
Marla Runyon. At the age of 9 she developed Stargardt’s disease, a form of macular degeneration that left her legally blind. With limited peripheral vision, Marla discovers her passion for high school athletics. She qualified for the Olympic team in 1996 for the heptathlon but failed to make it to the team.
Undeterred, Marla won a gold medal at the Paralympic Games, her second of 5 total Paralympic gold medals. In 2000, she became the first blind athlete to qualify for the US Olympic team in the 1500 meters. She placed 8th and returned to compete in 2004. Back problems and surgery ended her track career. Marla earned a second master’s degree in special education and began teaching the blind in Oregon schools.
Related: Reflecting and Staying Optimistic in the Face of Adversity: The How-To
The warriors and heroes among us
Every day you meet people who have to deal with horrific circumstances and uncertain outcomes. Most struggle through the pain and fear alone. Few events are as devastating as the day cancer is diagnosed, but the adversity often sees heroes using the disease as a catalyst to change their life path and, in the process, become a beacon of hope for all.
Doctors discovered Mia Bristers stage four Hodgkin lymphoma when she was 24. Mia faced a series of 12 chemo treatments, each involving an IV of toxic drugs, followed by several weeks of recovery.
During the treatments, Mia realized that most patients endure their pain alone and no one sharing their feelings. She started connecting with other patients, making friends and sharing her experiences to break through the walls of loneliness. Learning of the difficulties many had in finding or buying attractive headwear, she began to sew colorful hats and scarves for others in treatment.
When I met Mia in early 2022 and was immediately struck by her kindness, I knew her story. I had heard about Warrior Expressions Foundation, a non-profit organization she founded dedicated to inspiring and empowering people who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment. Mia buys and ships custom headscarves to cancer patients across the country, all for free.
“I love helping people,” Mia says. “My cancer diagnosis allowed me to find myself and discover my true passion and purpose… I’m very realistic with whoever I talk to as they go through their journey, but I also try to give them the positives because it is a very dark experience. I like to help them out of that darkness as much as possible.”
Mia has since made a remarkable recovery and continues to change the lives of countless cancer patients in the United States. She is an inspiration to everyone.
Related: Never Underestimate the Power of Adversity: How Hardship Builds Resilience
Final Thoughts
Victor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist, spent three years in the Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, and Dachau concentration camps. His parents and wife were murdered in the Nazi concentration camps. After his experience, he realized that he could help others find meaning in their lives through work, deeds and love for others or in hopeless situations. To be Man’s quest for meaningwritten after his rescue, has helped millions survive and rebuild valuable lives after a tragedy. Since its release, it has sold millions of copies worldwide and has helped countless others find meaning in their lives.
You can be many things in this life, but the most important thing is to be kind. When in doubt, be a Stephen Hawkingbe a Mia Brister and no matter what happens, never give up.
