The book Ubroken by Laura Hillenbrand is one of the most motivational and inspirational stories I have ever read. It tells the tale of Louis Zamperini, a misfit turned Olympic athlete who served in World War 2. During the war Zamperini was shot down over the Pacific, survived 47 days on the open ocean while fighting off sharks and bullets from enemy planes, and then gritted his way through two years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.
Throughout the story Zamperini faces challenge after challenge, from having to kill birds on the open ocean for food to dealing with a war camp commander that seemed hell bent on breaking him down. In spite of these seemingly insurmountable challenges Zamperini epitomized perseverance in the face of adversity. Time after time he defied death and overcame the desire to give up when any reasonable man or woman would have.
In the movie version, this will to overcome is personified in the statement “If you can take it, you can make it.” It is first said by Louis’ brother as he is convincing a young Louis that he can beat his competitors in racing if he trains harder than they do. Zamperini later leans on that statement as he is going through his personal hell throughout the war, even uttering at one point while in a Prisoner of War Camp, “If I can take it, I can make it.”
Zamperini’s amazing story of perseverance is summed up in that one statement for me. And more than that, it translates to each of our lives and allows us all to attempt to embody the spirit of Zamperini. We all face challenges in our lives. And while those challenges may not be fending off sharks or surviving war camp, I believe we can all use Zamperini’s statement of “If I can take it, I can make it.”
So often people see challenges as insurmountable. It’s time to kill that mentality.
Challenges are a part of life. They will inevitably come and stand in our path to success. The key is knowing that these challenges are just bumps in the road, not brick walls that will stop us forever. They can be overcome, they can be surmounted.
So often people see challenges as insurmountable. It’s time to kill that mentality. Unless it involves your health, there is no challenge that can’t be overcome. If Zamperini can overcome sharks, bullets, and psychopathic war criminals we can overcome our relatively trivial business and personal challenges. But to do so we need to be willing to grind through the tough times and persevere in the face of adversity. We need to embody Zamperini’s spirit and apply it to our daily lives.
Zamperini overcame his challenges by adopting the right mental attitude and taking action when he could. Let’s tackle mental attitude first. In Zamperini’s story when he was adrift at sea for 47 days he was out there with two other men. One of those men lost hope immediately and didn’t believe they could make it. His mental state deteriorated much more quickly than that of the others and he eventually died. Louis and the other man, however, did everything they could to stay positive and remain lucid. Despite the relentless sun, swarming sharks, and lack of food and water they knew that they had to stay right mentally to have any chance at survival. They would tell each other stories and even test each other with brain teasers to stay sharp.
Mental attitude is so important in any challenge you come upon. Challenges can be as big or as small as you let them be, it all depends on your perspective. If you give up at the first sign of trouble you can easily turn a small challenge into a game ending catastrophe. However, if you keep a positive attitude and look at all challenges as opportunities then you can overcome anything.
When challenges come your way you need to remain calm and tell yourself that this can be overcome, this can be surmounted. You need to believe that you can win the day and push through to the other side. Challenges are won or lost in the mind. Let them consume you and they will until you’re extinguished. But if you believe they can be overcome and tackle them with a positive attitude you can overcome any challenge laid before you.
When faced with challenges you can’t just sit back and hope for the best and you can’t ignore them. You need to tackle the problem head on and take action.
Taking action is also vital to overcoming challenges. Zamperini was limited in the actions he could take but he made sure to make the most of them. For example, when he was adrift in the ocean he couldn’t just dive in the water and grab a fish to eat. For one, he was constantly surrounded by sharks and two, he didn’t have the tools to do so. He had to get creative. So, when a bird landed on his life raft he captured it and ate it – raw! It wasn’t fun and he puked immediately but it did the job. Next they decided to kill the sharks and eat them. Again, with no tools, they resorted to grabbing the sharks by the tails and beating them until they died and then ate their livers.
Grinding through tough times with a positive attitude is one thing but you also need to take action to eventually get yourself out of that situation. When faced with challenges you can’t just sit back and hope for the best and you can’t ignore them. You need to tackle the problem head on and take action. You need to be proactive. No matter what the situation is, just start moving forward. Put one foot in front of the other, however small the step. Move forward and keep going until the challenge is in your rearview mirror. And if that challenge is stubborn and doesn’t want to budge, then you move even faster and run it over at full steam!
What do I mean by all of this? It all sounds good but how do I actually apply it?
Let’s say you were passed over for the promotion. First, develop a positive attitude. I know it sucks and that it’s easy for me to say “Stay positive” from afar. But believe me, I’ve been there. If you were passed over you need to find the good in it because it is surely there. Perhaps you were meant for a better job or maybe there is even a better company out there for you. Maybe by not getting the promotion you can spend more time with your kids or more time on your side business that you eventually want to turn into your full-time business. Whatever it is, you need to unlock the positive in the situation.
Next, you need to take action. If you were passed over for the promotion you need to get up, dust yourself off, and move forward. Perhaps you need to put in more time and produce higher quality work to earn the next promotion. Or perhaps you need to begin looking for that higher position at another company where they place higher value on your skill set. Or maybe it’s as simple as using the time you aren’t spending at work to be a better parent or spouse. Whatever your situation just make sure that you choose a path and start walking down it. Taking action is the only way that you will be able to put that challenge in your review mirror.
Think of the challenges you are facing today – financial hardship, personal relationships, problems at work, etc. Each of these situations has a solution to them. How can you apply a positive attitude and then take action?
No challenge is too big, no obstacle is insurmountable. If you can take it, you can make it.