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There’s no shadow of a doubt in my mind that we’re going to remember 2020 as the year of global adversity. All because of a virus that originated from Wuhan.

It’s a year of job losses and businesses, small and large downing their shutters leading to more unemployment.

Yet I believe this year will also be remembered as the one when we’d have discovered what really matters to us and the value of life and living.

Pivots are possible or even going in a different direction with our careers and business. We’ll finally embrace the change we knew we had to make. We made excuses because we were too comfortable and complacent to do what we knew we had to.

It is a year where ingenuity, strategy and the will to survive will guarantee a good year, even if things feel difficult and bleak right now.

One of my favorite stories is the one from Finland of the small bakery that decided to bake nourishing cakes in the form of – guess what – a toilet roll!

They made international headlines. Their strategy clearly indicated thinking outside the box to find new ideas. The toilet roll cake tactic paid off, the bakery is still running and the employees still have job.

Clearly, they flipped adversity and obstacles into an opportunity for success which is now being followed by others.

Don’t believe me? Watch this delightful video.

Key takeaway from the toilet roll cake story

It’s not what happens in life that defines you but how you deal with your situations.

You’ve heard the phrase ‘when life gives you lemons make lemonade‘.

This is as true today as it was when it was coined by Christian anarchist writer Elbert Hubbard in a 1915 obituary for dwarf actor Marshall Pinckney Wilder.

Although the expression was coined by Hubbard, many modern authors attribute the expression to Dale Carnegie who used it in his 1948 book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. Carnegie’s version reads: “If You Have a Lemon, Make a Lemonade.”

Things are difficult right now for all of us. We are facing uncertainty on a daily basis worried if we will contract the COVID-19 virus if the person next to us is asymptomatic or if we will infect others.

There are economic and financial worries about a future where the return to normal or even a newer normal is possible.

Our experiences from which we can draw relevant guidance to cope isn’t fully available because frankly, the last time there was this kind of an epidemic was back in 1920 with the Spanish Flu and none of us or even our parents in some cases were born back then. There is no first hand experience.

Riding through the storm and coming out on top of adversity

What this means for us is to focus on mindset and strategies because we know how to do that from experience.

If you’re facing a career or life challenge, it can be hard to remember that it’s normal to have obstacles crop up from time to time. Everyone has setbacks, disappointments, and tough times.

But going through a rough patch doesn’t have to spoil your life.

The key to thriving in the face of adversity is how you respond to the obstacles in your path.

Here are four strategies to help you ride through and come out on top.

Make a conscious decision to acknowledge the obstacle or adversity

If you’re having a tough time, it can be easy to feel helpless and fall into a victim mode of thinking.

But it’s up to you to rise to the challenge and decide that you won’t be overwhelmed.

I go into detail about the time when a successful buy out of a project indicated our jobs were safe but the following year top management took a business decision to close the department leading to job losses and uncertainty in a recessionary economy in my post Can Moving Cheese Positively improve Career Life Balance.

The outcome for each team member depended on how well they embraced the obstacle and adapted to change.

Choosing to take control and embrace your challenge is the first step in overcoming it. Look your obstacle square in the face and resolve to meet it.

Use your discomfort to find a new status quo

The proof that you’re embracing your obstacle is acknowledging that it doesn’t feel good. It can feel uncomfortable, heavy, even painful.

There are lots of life experiences that hurt at the time but end up being for your best and highest good.

Discomfort is actually good because it compels you to find a new level of comfort. It’s what comes out of your Wake Up Call and the beginning of a Hero Journey to a better destination.

Of course, it can be fearful to step out of our comfort zone or you’re worried you will fail but you will feel so much better once you’ve faced the worst.

Remember it won’t last forever. Don’t shrink from the bad feelings. You can ride them out and emerge victorious!

Make sure you have the right support team to cheer you on

Sometimes, when you face adverse situations, others can help you to turn your situation around. It’s rare that anyone faces something unique.

Others have been through what you are going through. Reach out to them. It’s better to get the help you need than to needlessly struggle with your situation.

You don’t have to face your obstacles alone.

It can make all the difference to have people around you who are supportive, who’ll stick by you and cheer you on when you want to give up.

Many times, the only thing stopping you from getting support is the hesitation to ask for help or support. Some people avoid reaching out because they are embarrassed.

Remember, those people once went through it, too. They know what you are dealing with.

One of the reasons I love scrolling through my newsfeed on Facebook or engaging in Groups is because I see of people reaching out when a friend or group member is having a rough time. They lovingly offer words of support or even giving advice because they have had similar experiences.

If you have a cheer squad, you’ll find that extra level of energy to help get you through. And you’ll be there for your friends and colleagues when they’re facing their challenges.

Once you’re part of a team who have each other’s backs, none of you will have to face life’s ups and downs alone. You’ll fight together and celebrate success together.

Be grateful for the opportunities adversity presents you

Feeling gratitude for the challenges in life might sound counter intuitive. But think about it.

Accepting the challenge, resolving to meet it head-on, and overcoming it makes you a better, stronger person.

Think of how good it feels to deal with a problem and solve it. To face fear and overcome it.

If you ask any successful person how they got that way, they will most likely tell you it’s due to overcoming failures. They learned from those failures and tried something different.

Each iteration, they learned something new from their failures. They continued until there were no failures.

One of my favorite stories is how Willis Carrier, the founder of modern air conditioning found a solution that helped his company make $15,000 additional income (a princely amount at the time) because he adopted the right mindset and didn’t let failure get him down.

Final words of encouragement

Without obstacles in your life, you would not grow and learn and become a better person. Obstacles are a natural, normal part of living an authentic life.

But you have to believe in yourself and what you’re doing.

Everyone has heard the classic tale how Thomas Edison continued 10,000 times before getting the light bulb to the way he wanted it. It’s hard to say if that number became exaggerated over the years, but he likely tried several thousand times at least.

The point is, he believed in what he was doing. When you try something that is untested, you need to take a leap of faith. Otherwise, it’s too easy to give up on your venture.

That is a truth that will always hold true. Even when the pandemic is over and we step into the post COVID-19 world.