Monday Motivation, 3.25.19

Written by: Stacy Tolbert

Every Monday, The Rogers-Long Team meets for one of its two weekly meetings. The Monday meeting always ends with “Monday Motivation” in which a few minutes are spent listening to one team member presenting a quote, a quick reading from a book, a scene from a movie, or anything else they find motivating to provide a “spark” to the whole team on a Monday morning.

 

“Believe it or not, any adversity is a blessing in disguise” – Tofe Evans. How is that? How does suffering, facing hardship, distress, pain or torment become a positive.  Adversity is a moment in your life that presents difficulty or suffering but will allow you to learn something, grow from something and maybe help/allow others to become better.

Adversity comes in innumerable levels of intensity, from being bullied on the school bus, hearing no from people when conducting business to losing a limb while serving your country. It’s what we take from that moment that knocked us down and how we deal with it and allow it to affect our lives. For some we allow it to stop us in our tracks, we can become angry and stop striving to complete a project, pursue our dreams or just carry a chip on our shoulders.  Instead of allowing to knock us down or deplete our self-esteem it should become the fuel that drives us forward. “Adversity is a word that has a negative connotation attached to it but, it is your greatest tool. It can drive you to finish challenges. It can give you opportunity” – Tofe Evans.

The reason I went looking for a quote this week relating to adversity is due to something a friend’s child had experienced. On the way home from school a student decided to start bullying another on the bus. The child being bullied was minding their own business, but this bully just decided to start calling them names, all derogatory and demeaning, so much so that even I can’t repeat it here. So, what is the positive that came from this? The child being bullied stood up for themselves, they learned that they had the power to overcome. Will this incident always be a part of their character, of course, how could it not? Yet it reiterated the positive support this child has surrounding them showing that there is more positive in the world compared to the bully that is roaming on the bus. It also shows them what a bully looks like and can help stop it from happening in the future whether it’s themselves or standing up for someone else.

Facing adversity is not something we want to go out and seek, but when confronted we should turn it on its head and allow ourselves to grow and learn from it. “You don’t want people who have never had to deal with adversity – you want people who have been able to deal successfully with adversity. That’s what adds to society. Those are going to be the hardest-working, best people”. – Linda Ronstadt. There is a lot of truth to that, it teaches us empathy, allows for us to look it something from someone else’s point of view, to not be so quick to jump to conclusions. We can use adversity to become better, successful and the greatest person we can be.

Stacy Tolbert, The Transaction Coordinator for The Rogers-Long Team: Powered by Hometown Realty, was a client of Ben & Kevin’s in 2015. After hiring The RLT for her family’s move, Ben returned the favor and hired her to come work with the team! Stacy’s primary role is coordinating transactions from contract to close. In her spare time, you can find Stacy working in the garden, tasting Craft Beer, or managing her three fantasy football teams!