Have you ever noticed how some of the richest, most successful people on the planet have experienced some form of adversity in their lives? Take a look at Oprah Winfrey’s extremely impoverished childhood or Tony Robbins’s experience of abuse—they both went through something terrible but became successful despite it. Psychologists have identified this correlation between facing adversity and gaining success as Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG). In other words, it’s a phenomenon that occurs when an individual experiences an adverse life event, and in the aftermath, with time, and healing, that person experiences an increase in positive traits, such as happiness, resilience, and success. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of adversity.
1. Increased appreciation for life
Psychologists have discovered that experiencing adverse life events might actually have an upside. Research shows that individuals who face traumatic challenges often go on to have an enhanced appreciation for life. It’s thought that experiencing difficult times can foster a sense of gratitude for the joy of simply being alive.
2. Stronger interpersonal relationships
Challenging life events can cause people to reassess what matters most to them, leading many to value their personal relationships much more. As a result, they often invest more time and energy in nurturing and maintaining close interpersonal connections with family, friends, and partners.
3. Enhanced resilience
Research shows that individuals who experience adverse life events can cultivate enhanced levels of resilience. This can look like a healthier stress response in the face of future challenges, increased confidence, and self-belief in their ability to handle difficult situations.
4. Spiritual growth
Individuals who survive traumatic events often report experiencing enhanced levels of spiritual growth, a newfound faith in God, and/or a higher spiritual power of some kind. This can manifest as a stronger connection to religious or spiritual beliefs or a broader sense of interconnectedness with others and the world around them.
5. Increased empathy and compassion
Research shows that people who have endured hardship are more likely to be compassionate towards others experiencing hard times. Adversity appears to enhance a person’s capacity for empathy—their own experiences seem to help them understand the suffering of others, making them more inclined to offer support and assistance to those in need.
6. Renewed sense of purpose
Individuals who have survived traumatic events often report having a renewed sense of purpose in life. Experiencing trauma and adversity can help a person get clear about what their purpose is, and help them to identify their life goals with an enhanced level of focus, which they may have previously lacked.
7. Increased self-efficacy
Self-efficacy is the belief, or self-confidence in one’s own ability to overcome obstacles and succeed. Psychologists have noted that individuals who experience Post-Traumatic Growth after adversity appear to demonstrate increased levels of self-efficacy. It’s possible that the experience of facing adversity and surviving it can lead to increased confidence about one’s own capabilities.
8. Enhanced sense of meaning
Survivors of adverse life events often report feeling a deep sense of meaning in their lives. This could be because the adverse event has put things into perspective for them, and resulted in them feeling more thankful, with increased levels of gratitude for the people, and circumstances of their life.
9. A positive perspective
Psychologists have also found that survivors of adversity with PTG appear to search for the good, and find the silver linings in their difficult experiences. For example, soldiers with PTG who were deployed into conflict, who have lost comrades, and/or faced life-changing injuries often talk about positive aspects of their time in service, such as, how they enjoyed the close friendships they formed, and how they felt part of something bigger than themselves. It appears that finding the upside to adversity can help people cope better with hardship, and contribute to post-traumatic growth.
10. Renewed appreciation for family
Another by-product of adversity can be a renewed sense of appreciation for our loved ones, and family members. This is potentially because highly stressful life events can force people to confront the possibility of losing those whom they hold dear, resulting in a tendency to value those relationships on a much deeper level.
11. Reframing stress as a challenge
Research shows that people who can reframe stress as a challenge have better coping abilities and healthier stress responses. By viewing stress as a challenge to overcome, instead of a threat, the body releases a different combination of hormones which allows us to focus and perform better on tasks.
12. Increased levels of optimism
You would think that experiencing difficult, and traumatic life events would lead to decreased optimism, but a study conducted in 2016 by psychologists investigating the effects of bullying on children in Ireland found that victims of bullying were more likely to demonstrate higher levels of optimism in negative situations. The research concluded that the adverse experience of bullying in childhood appeared to spark traits of post-traumatic growth, including enhanced optimism, and resilience.
13. A value-driven lifestyle
After life-changing experiences, many people go on to report caring less about money, success, or material things, and there is often a notable shift toward a more value-driven lifestyle. It seems that being forced to face the fragility of life initiates a process that replaces superficial aspirations of status like wealth, and fame with people placing more importance on their personal values and wanting to be a force for good in the world.
14. New hope for the future
In the aftermath of adversity, with time, and healing, many people find a new sense of direction in their lives. Often, individuals report feeling a positive transformation that results in feeling motivated and hopeful about the future. Many survivors of adversity go on to become mentors, or volunteers, or set up charities, and support groups that make a positive impact on others who are suffering through a similar challenge.
15. Increased personal strength
Nietzsche famously said that “what does not kill me makes me stronger,” and according to psychologists, he might have a point. Research shows that many survivors of adversity report feeling an increased amount of personal strength. It appears that overcoming difficult life challenges may somehow result in enhanced feelings of personal power, which ultimately can only be a good thing.
