If you have ever been around or involved in sports you know the phrase “be tough.” That phrase applies not only to sports, but all areas of life at work and home. A couple falls ago my son wanted to start a leaf raking business. Because of his stage of life I knew he needed a little help so we went to the computer and printed off some business cards for him to use and then he began canvassing the neighborhood.
On his first day out he got hired by three houses so the following weekend we went to those houses to start our raking. As with most of us, he began with great enthusiasm and energy at the first house in spite of the cold temperatures. He then had to attend a sporting activity and after lunch he began his second house. I left him alone to work and when I came back from running some errands he had stalled. What was the problem? It was beginning to feel like work . . . and it was.
He wanted to quit, but I encouraged him to persevere and told him that quitting was not an option. After a weekend of raking four houses and securing a couple more jobs he was very proud of himself.
How are you and I at handling the challenges of what we are entrusted to do? Do we want to quit at work, our marriage, doing the work of parenting, pursuing a greater dream? In all honesty there are times I want to quit, but for me this is not an option.
ADVERSITY QUOTIENT
What all this is about is our “Adversity Quotient” which Dr. Paul Stoltz created years ago. According to Maxwell Maltz in his book The New Psycho-Cybernetics Stoltz describes adversity quotient as “a measurement of how people perceive challenges and how well they deal with them.” p.151
So what are the characteristics of people with high AQs? Stoltz provides three attributes:
They do not blame others
Adversity is not because of someone else or something else, it just is.
They do not blame themselves
The adversity or setback does not negatively impact their personal perception – they are not a failure as a person because of a setback.
Problems are limited in size and duration and can be dealt with
Adversity does not overwhelm them to the point of paralysis and inability to take action, they keep moving forward one step at a time
When you hit adversity at work or home how do you respond? Do you have a high or low AQ? Which of Stoltz’s three attributes do you need to grow in? You can accomplish your dreams as long as you get out of your own way. Move forward today and keep growing.
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