I created this page so you can conveniently access any article by topic, depending on the challenge you’re facing today.
All articles are organized into one of fourteen topic areas, listed below. To jump to a specific section, click on the corresponding link.
I hope that you’ll refer to this page on an ongoing basis. It will be updated regularly!
👋 My Story
1. 👋 My Story
This is my introductory post where I share why I started Hello, Adversity and my goals for the site:
This article recounts my rare disease journey and how I learned to become an advocate:
2. 💬 Discussion Threads
From time to time, I will ask readers to share their favorite adversity-related tips, strategies, and resources. Hello, Adversity community members are full of wisdom and experience that inspires me every day.
All of these discussion forums remain active.
Hello, Adversity Guestbook - Stop in and say hi!
Ask Me Anything About Adversity - If you have an adversity-related question or want to talk through a problem you’re experiencing, leave a comment and I’ll respond as soon as possible.
What Books Helped You Through Tough Times? - Hello, Adversity readers share their favorite books to read when life gets tough.
Share Your Wins! - One of the key lessons I’ve learned over the years is the importance of celebrating our “wins”. Stop by and share yours!
3. 🆘 Getting Help
Asking for help is vital when we’re going through adversity. Unfortunately, it’s something we all struggle to do.
Before we can ask for help, we must address and surmount four common mental barriers:
Once you’re ready to ask for help, follow this process to maximize the effectiveness of your ask:
4. 💪 Building Confidence
We all struggle with confidence, but it can be cultivated, once you learn the right strategies and frameworks.
What others think of us
Impostor syndrome is a formidable foe, but it can be tamed. Here are ten ways to silence your inner critic:
So often we fall into the comparison trap, which crushes our confidence and harms our mental health. It turns out, however, that comparison is based on several faulty assumptions:
The Spotlight Effect is a cognitive bias that affects all of us. We think that everyone notices every little detail of our lives — including our flaws and failures — when in reality, they aren’t paying close attention. When left unchecked, the Spotlight Effect can wreak havoc on our self-esteem and self-confidence. It can also make us risk-averse. Here are a few ways to keep it in check:
Public Speaking & Storytelling
Many people fear public speaking more than death! Although intimidating, it’s a skill that can be mastered. Here are twelve strategies to make you a more confident speaker:
How telling your story can change your life and the lives of others:
Celebrating our successes
We love to dwell on our failures and flaws. In doing so, we forget the good moments — the ones when we succeeded or made a difference in someone’s life. Here are two techniques to capture these positive moments that you can reference the next time you’re feeling down:
5. 🎓 Life Lessons & Living Well
There are many steps we can take to live a happy, productive life, even against the backdrop of adversity.
Experiences provide cherished memories we can savor for the rest of our lives. This article introduces the concept of the memory dividend:
When we’re able to engineer serendipity in our lives, our circumstances can change for the better. Here are five ways to stack the deck in your favor:
When we use our time well and clarify our priorities, we can live a life without regret. Here’s how:
On my 37th birthday last September, I shared 37 lessons I’ve learned on my adversity journey:
Last May, I wrote the commencement speech I wish I had heard at my college graduation. Here is the advice I’d share with college students:
At the end of last year, I recapped the favorite things I learned, discovered, and appreciated in 2023:
6. 🤝 Building Positive Relationships
These days, loneliness is an epidemic. So many people are suffering alone without a support system in place. Fortunately, with a little effort, positive relationships are easy to cultivate.
This article covers how to “go positive and go first", leveraging the power of mirrored reciprocity to build satisfying, life-long relationships:
Sometimes, we need to find someone who has experienced what we’ve been through. This article covers how I found role models that helped me through my darkest moments (and how you can do the same):
7. 😬 Taking Risks/Making a Big Life Decision
Sometimes in life, we have to take a risk. Rather than fear the unknown, we can learn to embrace it.
In this article, I talk about my decision to leave my job last year to take time off to write. It was a major risk, but one I’m glad I took:
I used to love long road trips, but as my condition has progressed, traveling has become more difficult. Last year, I had the opportunity to attend a work fundraiser in Philadelphia. I almost said no, but ultimately decided to take the risk and go. It was well worth the effort:
8. 😢 Grief & Loss
In January, my Uncle Ronnie passed away from a long illness. He had an indelible impact on my life:
It has been eleven years since my friend and coworker Carly Hughes passed away from cancer. This is the tribute I wrote to her on the ten-year anniversary of her passing:
9. ❌ Dealing with Failure
Failure is an essential part of life. It is how we grow, and ultimately, our ticket to success.
This article helps to frame failure and put it in its proper context. It turns out that everyone experiences failure at some point:
This article provides several strategies for turning failure on its head and using it to our advantage:
10. 🧠 Mental Health
Stress and anxiety are never fun, but they can be managed. These articles provide strategies and techniques for improving our mental health.
Decluttering the Mind
Every week, I take an hour to clear out my mental cobwebs and think about the big picture. On occasion, I experience a life-changing breakthrough, all because I took the time to think deeply. This article outlines how to establish this practice in your own life:
When we get stressed, we zoom through life, leaving us more anxious and frazzled. Slowing down restores a sense of calm and gives us the space necessary to handle life’s challenges:
It is easy to dwell on past mistakes or ruminate on future worries. How I learned to live in “day-tight compartments” and focus on the present moment:
A lot of anxiety stems from an overtaxed mind. Here are three ways to stay in the present moment and reduce anxious thoughts:
Depression & Panic Attacks
These are two topics I know all too well.
The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding technique is a helpful strategy to implement any time you are on the verge of a panic attack, or when you need to escape daily stress:
We all reach our breaking point. Here is the story of how I reached mine, and ultimately, how I used it as a catalyst to get the help I needed:
When we name the emotion or fear that we’re struggling with, we can gain power over it. Here’s how I confronted my unwelcome visitor, “The Vise”.
Humor is essential in tough times. But it’s not always easy to laugh when life gets hard. This article explores how I learned to find humor amidst the darkness, and how you can do the same.
Gratitude & Appreciation
Sometimes, a shift in perspective can help us better appreciate the life we’ve been given. This is the story of how I finally let go of what might have been.
11. ✅ Goal-Setting & Productivity
I used to set New Year’s resolutions, but always crashed and burned after a few weeks. This article outlines my annual check-in process that I follow every January to start my year off right. It’s a much more practical (and enjoyable) goal-setting process than setting a resolution:
When we’re dealing with a problem or challenge, we’re willing to do whatever’s necessary to make it go away. But trying to do everything at once is a one-way ticket to burnout. This article offers a five-step process for reducing our workload so we can better handle our challenges and get back on track.
12. 🎨 Creativity
A behind-the-scenes look at my writing process and how I write my weekly Hello, Adversity newsletter:
13. 🎤 Interviews
- of talks about his ALS diagnosis and what he’s learned about resilience and staying positive.
- of shares her experience navigating job loss and how she learned to rely on others for support.
14. 📚 Roundup Archives
Hello, Adversity Weekly Roundup archive - For the first 29 weeks of this newsletter, I sent out a Saturday links roundup. I discontinued it only because I couldn’t handle the pace of writing twice a week. But there’s a lot of useful content in these roundups! I’m still thinking through the best way to distribute this content. Stay tuned.
The Resilience Response archive - The Resilience Response was a mighty — albeit short-lived — Saturday newsletter where I shared one strategy, one first-person perspective, one resource that’s helped me, and one discussion question. This newsletter is chock full of interesting tidbits.