"Whatever does not destroy me makes me stronger." — Friedrich Nietzsche

“Isn’t there something incredibly riveting about the human struggle with adversity? We read about it in all the great books, are spellbound by it in popular movies, and wrestle with it in our own lives every day. Why adversity? Maybe it’s because within that struggle lies the essential wisdom we all need to become the kind of person we hope to be . . .”

So begins The Adversity Advantage, a book by blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer and Paul Stoltz, director of the Global Resilience Project.

Adversity as Advantage
The book is all about using adversity to your advantage. We don’t always seek out adversity; sometimes it finds us unexpectedly, as many of us with disabilities already know.

The authors suggest that through having experiences outside our comfort zones, we are more likely to learn, grow as people, and achieve greater things. So are they suggesting that becoming disabled is an opportunity to become a ‘greater’ person? Well that depends on how we respond.

Making History
Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind person in history to have climbed the "Seven Summits"—the highest mountains on each of the world’s continents—describes becoming blind and his initial rejection and denial of his situation. He believed that being blind would somehow make him obsolete.

But when he decided to accept his situation, learn Braille and learn how to use a guide stick, his life turned around for the better, leading to his rich climbing experiences and also his work as a teacher. Erik’s story illustrates how adversity can provide the challenge, the kick in the pants that helps us grow.

Lessons From the Book
Linking to Erik’s mountaineering, and using the metaphor of climbing mountains and tackling storms, the authors have fittingly suggested a sequence of steps (they call them summits) to take advantage of adversity.

The first two are:
Summit 1: Take it on – face the facts of your situation without denial, overcoming the associated feelings of frustration, anger, and helplessness. Take action to confront the difficult facts, being willing to face what is hardest, and follow where it takes you. Step into the ‘eye of the storm.’

Summit 2: Summon your strengths – adversity requires you to dig deep to find your existing strengths  The best things don’t always come naturally, though, so adversity is also an opportunity to develop new skills entirely. Exceed expectations of what you and others can, or should, attempt to do.
So what? Why bother?

Well, that depends on whether you want to lead a life that is less rewarding, where you are unlikely to achieve your aspirations, OR one where you use all adversities to your advantage and bring out the best in yourself.

As the authors would argue, “The greatest people step into the storm when others step back.”

For a long time it had seemed to me
That life was about to begin – real life.
But there was always some obstacle in the way,
Something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business,
Time still to be served, a debt to be paid.
Then life would begin.
At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.
--Alfred D. Souza

More information about the book is available at www.adversityadvantage.com Eric Weihenmayer’s website is http://www.touchthetop.com/.

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Sabriye Tenberken is blind, but that didn't stop her from traveling from Germany to Tibet, alone, and establishing a school for the blind and outcast children of Tibet.  Read her story and find out how she's worked with Eric Weihenmayer in Braille Without Borders: Creating Hope Where Darkness Once Dominated.

Read about Eric's adventure with blind schoolchildren from Braille Without Borders, and their attempt to climb the 23,000 foot Lhakpa Ri on the north side of Mount Everest in Blindsight Offers an Intimate Look at Blind Mountaineers.