Overcoming Adversity

Aimee Mullins explained in her TED talk that when faced with adversity, one must not focus on overcoming it, but embracing it, living with it, and even "dancing" with it. Her wise words truly stuck with me and I completely agree. I believe that the children of the future should be taught to face adversity and manage it. It's something everyone will face throughout a lifetime and the more prepared they are to deal with the effects of it, the more successful they can ultimately be. Parents must not protect their children from adversity's effects but instead give them the experience and knowledge to adequately handle themselves in times of trouble. Adversity teaches people to think past themselves and allows them to realize the struggles that others face. In Dan Pink's novel A Whole New Mind, he explains that through people's difficulty, they can acquire new skills as a result. "But as with a blind person who develops a more acute sense of hearing, a dyslexic's difficulties in one area lead him to acquire outsized ability in others," (Pink). Even though people who struggle with dyslexia have problems memorizing data and writing, they excel in seeing the big picture and problem solving. I believe that certain experiences can open up people's view of the big picture and guide R-directed thinking. Aimee Mullins herself was born without shin bones and therefore uses two prosthetic legs. However, despite her setback in life, she has become a well-known athlete, actor, and fashion model. She believes that conflict is the genesis of creation and that adversity gives us a sense of our own power. I agree completely because when humans are faced with problems, the experience of fighting through teaches them about themselves and the greater world around them. I love how her talk is titled "The Opportunity of Adversity" because it illustrates adversity as something that can create wonders in our lives. It's something that isn't pleasant to deal with in the moment, but afterwards people are left with astounding realizations and euphonies. I think this is because when people must channel their thought and effort into a single goal for a moment in time, afterwards they realize the bigger picture. I also love that she starts off with the definition of the word disabled. A simple black background on the screen behind her display simple whit words. Crippled, helpless, useless, lame, weak, laid-up, done for flash across the screen sending the audience a powerful message. Then she shows the antonyms: healthy, strong, and helpful. I was shocked that the definition would be so blunt and I can't imagine how that would have made Aimee feel. The definitions and her own story better illustrate her point that everyone has the ability to contribute to society like Aimee has done and other inspirational people that have overcome life challenges. Bethany Hamilton and Lance Armstrong come to my mind. Additionally, it strengthens her point that adaptation is humans greatest. I truly believe this to be true. We have the ability to adapt to the world around us despite the mental, physical, and environmental barriers. In my opinion, one of the most powerful things she shared was that when she was 15 years old, she would have traded her prosthetics for flesh legs, but that now she wouldn’t because of the experiences that she has had and the lesson that she has learned along the way.

Works Cited

Pink, Daniel H. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-brainers Will Rule the Future. New York: Riverhead, 2006. Print.