Don’t Waste Your Disaster
We rarely see adversity as opportunity, but nature does. Some of earth’s richest soils, for instance, were byproducts of “disasters” such as floods, volcanoes and the Ice Age. We may see forest fires as catastrophes, but nature sees them as a time of rebirth. In fact, some plant species (known as pyrophytes) actually need such fires for their seeds to germinate.
Loss, hardship and disaster are inevitable, both in our personal and professional lives. But here’s the thing: while adversity is inevitable, profiting from it is not. You have to choose. And while no one would recommend courting trouble, the point is to be sure that when trouble comes, as it will, the opportunity which lies in its shadow should not be overlooked.
This is not to be glib or flippant about the grief and horror that may visit us from time to time, or to suggest that we ought not to allow grieving to take its proper course. But what a shame to pay the price of loss and grief without sifting the ashes to find the hidden jewel.
When hardship comes, as it will, let’s not waste the inherent opportunity to learn, and to leverage the loss into something greater than what we had before.