The Role of Adversity in Shaping a Sales Person’s Character
I still remember the worst sales call I ever made. More than just remember it, I react to the memory. I get a queasy feeling in my stomach
every time I think about it. It wasn’t just a bad sales call, it was a humiliating, embarrassing event. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.
That’s the point. There is something about adversity that has the power to linger forever in our memories, shaping our character and molding our behavior for the rest of our life.
Adversity can take countless forms. It
can be a gut-wrenching incident, like my worst sales call, or more poignantly, something like an auto accident or the loss of a loved one. I’ve had them all. Or, it can be a period of financial distress – yes, I’ve had that too, a couple of times.
Or, it can be a time of health problems, and relationship conflicts. Yep, you guessed it. I’ve lived through both of those situations as
well.
Regardless, the Encarta Dictionary defines adversity this way:
1. misfortune (hardship and suffering)
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Prefer to talk to someone? Call us at 800-331-1287. 2. adverse happening (an extremely unfavorable experience or event)
One of the
things that these experiences have in common is their impact on us – they create an intense, negative emotional response. We become angry, embarrassed, humiliated, depressed, and hopeless. Adversity produces a grab-bag of bad feelings. It’s not fun. As I reflect on my personal experiences, I have to acknowledge that the events mentioned above were some of the worst hours, days, and months of my life. I never want to go through any of them
again.
But it is that intensity of emotional response that contains the seeds that can bloom into a sounder character, if we respond appropriately. We’ve all heard the expression, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” Sort of true, but not exactly. That common expression would be more accurate if we tacked on the
phrase, “if we let it.” The real truth is: “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, if we let it.”
“If we let it,” is the secret. There’s no guarantee that, by itself, without our active and appropriate response, adversity will make us stronger. I’ve met, and I’m sure you have too, many people who
allowed adversity to turn them into bitter or defeated... [click here to read the entire article online]
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