Exercise 2 – Finding Gratitude for Adversity

An exercise to try by Ben Fairbrother 

Take your time with this exercise, allow yourself to be open to new perspectives and be patient with yourself in the process. In your journal or on a sheet of paper, write down your answers to these questions.

1. Write down your experience of adversity, organize it into words.

2. What emotions did this experience instigate? Reflect on the severity of each one, have you felt them before to this degree?

3. How has your perspective changed from this experience? Did it shatter certain thoughts or positions you had about life in general, your world view? Do you see some people or situations differently now?

4. Contemplate those emotions again, what do you think the purpose of each of them is? Do you see any use in maintaining them? Why?

5. Take several mental steps back from the experience, examine the bigger picture of your life and it’s trajectory. Where does this adversity fit in? Did it change the course you were on? Did this adversity set you up for other unique or beneficial experiences?

6. What did you learn from this experience?