Hello, Adversity Weekly Roundup #05 - March 4, 2023
Hello, Adversity Weekly Roundup #05 - March 4, 2023
Learning from failure, helping someone through a tough time, the power of role models and more
Hi everyone!
Welcome to the fifth edition of the Hello, Adversity Weekly Roundup. I hope you had a great week.
It finally snowed here in the Northeast after a relatively snow-free winter. Normally, I would be happy to see snow. Unfortunately, it snowed the day I was supposed to have a medical procedure and I had to postpone it to next week. Frustrating, but sometimes you just have to laugh.
Before diving into the links (can you dive into a link?), I just wanted to say thank you again for your support of Hello, Adversity! I value each and every one of you and appreciate all the kind feedback so far.
If I could so kindly ask - if you know anyone who would benefit from receiving this newsletter, would you encourage them to subscribe? I won’t bombard you with requests to do this, but word-of-mouth is often the most powerful marketing tool.
Without further ado, here are this week’s links:
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was predictably devastated after losing the Super Bowl last month in heartbreaking fashion. Despite his disappointment, Hurts conveyed a healthy perspective towards losing in the postgame press conference.
"You either win or you learn,” said Hurts.
There are many great takeaways in this article, including how to face failure, controlling what you can control, and appreciating the journey of life.
I also liked this quote from Hurts:
"You know, I think the beautiful part about it is, everyone experiences different pains, everyone's experience is different, but you decide if you want to learn from it. You decide if you want to use that to be a teachable moment.”
I expect we will see him in the Super Bowl again sooner rather than later.
In this COVID/post-COVID time (era? I don’t know what to call it anymore), we have all experienced loss in some form.
Social media, for all its faults, brings us together in times of sorrow. When I see someone posting about a loss or how they are currently struggling, I want to provide them comfort, but I don’t always know what to say.
Saying “I’m so sorry” feels inadequate even though I know it’s still appreciated. I always want to do more, and to let them know that I care about them, even if I don’t know them very well. It hurts to see anyone grieving.
This article is a couple years old but I thought it was a helpful list of simple ideas to help someone going through a tough time. There are a lot of ways to show someone that you care beyond just words (although words can be great too).
Katie Hawkins-Garr is also the author My Sweet Dumb Brain, an adversity-themed Substack I’ve found to be eloquent and powerful. I recommend giving it a read!
Author Kurt Vonnegut memorialized his friend, Joseph Heller with the following poem in the New Yorker in 2005:
True story, Word of Honor:
Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer
now dead,
and I were at a party given by a billionaire
on Shelter Island.
I said, "Joe, how does it make you feel
to know that our host only yesterday
may have made more money
than your novel 'Catch-22'
has earned in its entire history?"
And Joe said, "I've got something he can never have."
And I said, "What on earth could that be, Joe?"
And Joe said, "The knowledge that I've got enough."
Not bad! Rest in peace!
I learned about this poem a few weeks ago. I am not really a poetry fan but I found the takeaway to be incredibly powerful: the concept of true wealth.
How many of our ills stem from wanting more? From never being satisfied? From always being jealous and envious of what others have?
True wealth comes from the satisfaction of knowing you don’t need more things or more money. You might have one dollar in your bank account or one million. But once you have enough, you no longer have to keep count.
George Springer, All-Star outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays and pride of New Britain, Connecticut, grew up with a stutter. He currently serves as a national spokesperson for SAY: The Stuttering Association for the Young.
This article is about his friendship with a boy named Mateo, son of MLB writer Jesse Sanchez. Mateo, who also stutters, has found a role model in Springer and the two have formed a close friendship since meeting in 2017.
Mateo struggled with his stutter before meeting Springer, but he is now turning into a confident young man, empowered to make a difference. If Springer hadn’t shared his story of growing up with a stutter, Mateo might not have found the role model he needed to learn how to thrive.
Storytelling and role models are two subjects near to my heart. I will talk of the importance of finding role models in my next newsletter. Stay tuned!