Read This When You’re Faced With Adversity

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It was just after 8am and my phone rang; it was my doctor’s office. The day prior, I had an ultrasound done to check for gallstones, and they were calling with the results. I answered the phone, but was nowhere near prepared to hear what came next.

We all have setbacks throughout our days. Most of them are minor, like oversleeping and running late. But sometimes, we’re faced with setbacks that knock the wind out of us and make us re-evaluate our lives entirely.

Losing a job. Death of a loved one. Medical conditions. There are so many things that could possibly go catastrophically wrong, and when they do… it leaves us at a loss.

I’m no stranger to adversity, myself. Five and a half years ago, I was diagnosed with epilepsy, and I was forced to make life altering changes that took some getting used to. But the setback was just that—a setback.

It didn’t keep me in place, unable to move forward with my life. I like to believe that the larger setbacks in our lives help us to set guides for how we handle the smaller ones. They put things into perspective for when our lives seemingly fall apart again.

The ultrasound was negative for gallstones. As gallbladders go, mine is pretty healthy. However, the source of my upper right abdominal pain and swelling was identified nearby: there are fat deposits in my liver. I have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

While it’s manageable (and even reversible) with lifestyle changes such as eating extremely healthy and exercising regularly, it could predispose me for cirrhosis, liver cancer, and early liver failure. After being given strict dietary and fitness instructions, I thanked the nurse and disconnected. I couldn’t believe that once again, my life was being turned completely upside down.

The thing about adversity is that it’s the unwanted house guest that knocks on your door at 8am and is sitting at your dinner table with a place next to depression, staring at you by 5 o’clock that evening.

The longer you let it keep a presence in your daily life, the more miserable you will be. It’s needy. Distracting.

Adversity loves to wake you up from a dead sleep to remind you that it’s still there. But it’s your life, and your attitude towards it changes everything. So when you find yourself faced with adversity overstaying its welcome, find the strength to look it in the eye and say, “Don’t get too comfortable; you’ll be gone by morning.”