This piece is part of my 2016–2026 archive migration. Some original formatting, content, and external links may be missing, changed, or not be optimized.
Anything Can Be An Advantage
What’s holding you back that could be a hidden source of strength?
Perception Is Everything
A job loss can lead to a more prestigious opportunity. A new boss/leader can lead to quality and invaluable mentorship. A divorce can lead to profound personal development. Death can lead to enlightenment that changes the way you do life going forward. A breakup can lead to you becoming more empathetic, forgiving, and grateful. Being homeless can lead you to become financially independent. Growing up in an abusive home can lead to your story healing others, which leads to your healing.
All the things we perceive as unfortunate events and disadvantages could be perceived as the opposite if we learn how to use them most productively. Everything is ultimately a matter of opinion; whether we deem something positive or negative does not make it fact.
“At five feet three inches tall, Muggsy Bogues was the shortest player ever to play basketball. Throughout his career, he was snickered at, underestimated, and counted out.
But Bogues succeeded by turning his height into the very thing that made him nationally known. Some people looked at his size as a curse, but he saw it as a blessing. He found the advantage contained within it. In fact, on the court small size has many advantages: speed and quickness, the ability to steal the ball from unsuspecting (and significantly taller) players, to say nothing of the fact that players just plain underestimated him” – The Daily Stoic p 245
How Can You Apply Bogues’ Mentality?
Bogues had everything against him in a sport where height is a clear advantage, but he made his “weakness” advantageous.
How can you do the same in your life? What are you currently facing that seems to be impeding your progress? How can you use this impediment to your advantage? How can you apply Bogues’ mentality to your everyday life?
Get outside of your box and habitual thinking pattern and learn how to view your circumstances with a different lens than you usually use.
Remember, the rough is only mental
Our attitudes determine how difficult a tribulation has to be for us. The rough is only mental. It’s too easy to give in to the pain that comes with: loss, self-discipline, personal development (growing pains), separation, inconvenience, and negative emotions.
But we were created to be resilient. You must remember this at all costs – especially when it’s easiest to forget and throw in the towel.
Victor Frankl put it best in the following four quotes:
When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.
Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
The last of human freedoms – the ability to choose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances.
How Do We Control Our Thoughts?
Fear Shows You What Matters Most
What’s On Your Tombstone?
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This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.
This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.