Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Adversity


It is said that there are no atheists in foxholes, but anyone who has seen Touching the Void knows this isn't true.

Void is the true story of Joe Simpson and the hell he endured on Siula Grande which is a 20,813 foot peak in the Peruvian Andes. An accident left Simpson with a broken leg. His climbing partner Simon Yates attempted to bring Simpson down but a slip left Simpson hanging over the edge. Simon Yates was left with the agonizing choice to cut the rope or die with Simpson. Yates cut the rope.

Simpson should have died from the fall but a stroke of good fortune spared him. But his partner thinking Simpson was dead descended to base camp and prepared for the sad journey home. Simpson was in a crevasse, and no one was going to save him but himself. Would Simspon cry out to God? Simpson's response:

I was brought up as a devout Catholic. I'd long since stopped believing in God. I always wondered if things really hit the fan whether I would, under pressure, turn 'round and say a few Hail Marys and say, "get me out of here." It never once occurred to me. It meant that I really don't believe and I really do think that when you die you die, that's it. There's no afterlife, there's nothing.

In the end, there is nothing. Simpson made a decision to live, and he crawled six miles back to base camp through ice, boulders, and the camp's latrine without food or water to sustain him. It is an epic tale of survival.

But this is not merely a DVD review. This is about enduring adversity, and it comes to all of us. There is no such thing as a problem-free existence. Shit happens, and you must deal with it. And you must choose to live or die.

The biggest hurdle in adversity isn't the adversity itself but your mental approach to these things. I'm not going to launch into a Tony Robbins infomercial here. That idiot doesn't know a thing about adversity.

When it comes to hard times, you must believe in your ability to handle the shit life slings at you. You must believe in yourself. Praying won't change a thing. You are your own savior.

The second thing you have to do is believe in patience and persistence. This is how Joe Simpson saved himself. He crawled one foot at a time. He dragged himself out of that hell. Lesser mortals would have given up, but Simpson did not. He persisted.

Finally, the answer to most problems usually boils down to hard work. Nothing is really impossible. It is simply difficult, and the difficulty is that you must exert sustained labor towards the accomplishment of the goal. I'm a big believer in work. Everywhere I go in my life, I see roads, bridges, buildings, etc. and realize they were all built one piece at a time.

I just accept that I have to always work in my life. I have no plans to ever retire. This is a waste of life. I would rather burn out than fade out. And if you don't have a job, your job is to find a job. Anyone who doesn't have work isn't looking hard enough.

Adversity is no big deal. In fact, we seek it out. The reason Joe Simpson was on Siula Grande in the first place was because he wanted to be challenged. Similarly, we seek the same thing in very movie we watch or videogame we play. The basis of all entertainment is conflict. This is why we pit athletes against each other or watch an action hero in an epic film battle the bad guys. If given paradise, we would find the exit. Eden is boredom. None of us wants a trouble-free existence.

Overcoming adversity is easy. It is overcoming yourself that is hard.

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