Dealing with Adversity
I recently ran into a former tenant of mine in Muskoka. He was involved with a successful and glamourous business; knew all the glitterati; angered the wrong rich American; was charged with fraud; became estranged from his long time business partner; lost all his money; and went to jail for a few years.
Those events would break a lot of people. I was impressed they didn't break him.
In speaking with him, I learned that he has been able to maintain his long standing marriage throughout the adversity; he has a good relationship with his children; he regularly sees his grandchildren; he is now fighting cancer, so far successfully; and he has a positive attitude. He is in his mid-70s and told me he doesn't intend to go anywhere for a while.
When I asked how he did it, he told me that early on in his life, he learned that when faced with adversity, you have two choices. Curl up and surrender, in which case life is not worth living; or stand and fight. He stood and fought and as a result is now far stronger. I wish him well and hope he sticks around for a while longer.
