The Daily Grind: Overcoming Adversity

For most of you, fall sports have wrapped up, and for the rest, you are gearing up for the playoffs. I’m sure you all have experienced some type of obstacle at some point during the season, and I wanted to provide another tool for the daily grind of being a student-athlete.

How much can you handle before you throw in the towel? When you’re down, how quickly will you respond? We all go through different hurdles in life, sports or school, and it’s a way of life that you will always be tested on your journey to greatness.

As student-athletes, there are certain issues of the daily grind that may never be an issue with you, but there’s one that will always be staring at you right in the face, and it’s called adversity.

Adversity in sports is making a mistake that loses your team the game, receiving a bad call from a referee, dealing with a hostile crowd or battling through injuries. These are all examples of adversity that athletes deal with on a daily.

These obstacles can either make or break you, but it’s how you respond to adversity. It’s unavoidable that we will encounter bad conditions and circumstances in our lives, and learning to embrace these experiences with grace and dignity may be useful to our personal journeys.

You must understand that adversity is only a temporary obstacle you must overcome in that moment. Only your reaction to certain adversities can stick with you long-term. Staying cool during tough situations is important because one wrong outburst or comment can end the game for you and hurt your team.

You don't have to like adversity, it does suck, but we all need it in our lives. It plays a pivotal role in our growth, and it's the fuel on the journey to greatness. Things that we gain or accomplish in life are so much more important when it is not given.

Adversity builds character, and having a positive response to it is another key trait most coaches like to see in a player.

Now that you know the ins and outs of adversity and why we must respond correctly, there are some tools to use adversity to your advantage. First, have a positive mindset. Focus on what you can control, such as your attitude and body language. Be mindful of your behavior because you might be the one that everyone looks to for inspiration.

The next step is to keep fighting and persevere in the face of difficulty. When we reach the moment where we want to give up or yield to the difficulty, we must push ourselves past our discomfort and pain.

When your team is trailing, will you put your head down and face defeat, or will you motivate everyone to fight back? How well you respond to pressure in the present will determine how you respond to pressure in the future.

The final tool for overcoming adversity is to have confidence. Never let a team or a game convince you that you are not good enough. If you practice your craft every day in the gym or on the field, you should be able to handle a few hiccups because you are already prepared for them.

As some of you prepare for the playoffs, remember that adversity will be there every step of the way, and how you respond is how far you will go. I wish you all the best of luck in the postseason and remember, nothing in this world can stop you from achieving greatness if you stick to the daily grind.