Overcoming Challenges: Examples of Adversity Bringing Talents
“Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” This quote by Horace expresses that when faced with a difficult situation, our true sense of self will push through. Adversity changes a person's character in a way that prosperity cannot. There is value in the hardships we face in our lives because during these struggles, we are forced to search the depths of our humanity in order to reach the heights of success.
Throughout history, there have been numerous examples of adversity bringing out talents in people, as seen with Frederick Douglass' leadership in the abolitionist movement, Oprah Winfrey's success as an influencer, and the 332nd fighter group's courage to fight for their country despite discrimination. As Horace once said, "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant." These examples illustrate that when faced with difficult situations, our true sense of self is revealed, and we are forced to search the depths of our humanity to reach success. Adversity changes a person's character in a way that prosperity cannot, and while the struggles may be disheartening, they can ultimately lead to setting higher goals, overcoming barriers, and inspiring change for others facing similar obstacles.
A more current example of someone who had overcome adversity and prospered is the one and only, Oprah Winfrey, because of being born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a teenage mother, she experienced considerable hardships throughout her childhood. While growing up, she had been raped at age nine and then became pregnant at 14; having her son die in infancy. Facing all those obstacles, she still managed to become successful as an influencer and a positive voice to millions. She has been called the most influential woman in the world. Maybe she wouldn’t have thought to donate money to charities or care for others, if she had never t been through these struggles herself. Maybe she wouldn’t have felt the need to influence younger people if she didn’t know about the hardships they faced, having gone through such things herself. These two examples just shows that through adversity you learn to persevere which is a talent in itself. People can still have the talent to push through and have a thriving life.
Adversity can come in all different forms, not always attacking people physically, but also mentally and emotionally; some people decide to not let their hardships win and push through to be better than before. This was the case for the 332nd fighter group, who were a group of African-American combat fighters in the United States Air Force during World War II. During this time in America, many people of color still were faced with Jim Crow Laws and segregation. Though discriminated against due to the color of their skin, they still went to fight overseas for their Country. These men were successful in the mission and were amongst the first African-Americans to receive honorary medals for their service. This example just shows that even though the adversity can be disheartening, it can cause us to set higher goals for ourselves, and overcome the barriers set for us and take a step towards changing those barriers for people who are similar to us. If there had been no adversity, these airmen might not have felt the need to go after their goals. Also during World War II, the Battle of Dunkirk took place, which was another example of how adversity elicits talent. The allies had been pushed back to the coast and were surrounded by German enemies.
Although they were in a horrible situation and were struggling, they succeeded in getting 338,226 men out of there, aboard 861 vessels because of the talents they had to put to use in this difficult situation. Many civilian boats from England made the journey over to Dunkirk to help with the escape, if they had not known of the hardships that the men, who were fighting for their country were facing, then they would never have the urge to get out there and help them. Therefore, proving that through adversity, it elicits courage to do something you otherwise wouldn’t have done which is could be labeled a talent.
Overcoming adversity is a major theme on the silver screen. From a young age we are taught that our hardships can bring out the power in us, through the many superheroes we admire. Batman lost both of his parents, Spiderman lost his uncle, Green Arrow lost his fortune, and Captain America overcame ill health. All these heroes are supported for overcoming the adversity they faced in their life and becoming successful. They used their negative events to fuel their passion to make a difference in the world. There is a well-known superhero by the name of Daredevil, or Matt Murdock. After an accident where he saved a man from being hit by a truck carrying toxic matter, he finds himself blinded by the truck’s contents. The accident heightened his other senses, giving him his supernatural powers. Murdock’s blindness does not stop him from training in the martial arts and graduating with his doctorate degree from Columbia University. Daredevil’s desire to rid the streets of unfavorable activity stems from the fact that he also had to go through the struggle of losing his father due to murder. Not only does he fight crime in the streets but he has his own law practice. Even though these are movies, tv shows, and books, we can still see the importance of overcoming adversity because it is a true aspect of showing one’s successful character, and is a way for us to gain more talents because of these struggles.
Even in things we do in our everyday lives we experience hardships, they may seem miniscule at the time, but they can lead to successful outcomes. In sports, it’s well-known that only through failure and struggle, that it is the way to get better. From personal experience as being a swimmer, I know this is true because I have gotten disqualified in a race. Rather than making me feel defeated and wanting to give up, this only heightened my desire to get better at the sport and become more successful, therefore gaining more talent in the subject. Hardship makes your mind want to do better and aim for success because of experiencing those struggles. A more mainstream example of this in sports, is back in 2001 when Drew Bledsoe of the New England Patriots was hit by a New York Jets lineman and suffered a sheared blood vessel in his chest - which almost resulted in his death. This was a major misfortune for the team, causing them to replace Bledsoe with their backup, Tom Brady, who ended up leading New England to the Super Bowl. This explains that even when they thought this struggle would end badly for them, it ended up actually pushing them to victory and eliciting talents that the team didn’t know they had in them.
Adversity comes with strength that can help people grow and overcome. It allows people to know what it feels like to be in a difficult situation which will give them the opportunity to push themselves to make it through. Think about it, when first learning to ride a bike, you may have struggled to learn how to keep your balance and had fallen a couple times, but through perseverance came over time. There is strength and character in struggle, it shows people their given nature to fight for success and to overcome those struggles.
