So imagine that you’re an acorn that fell off the tree and you’re just minding your own business lying in the grass being… an acorn.  Along comes an 8-year-old with big shoes and you just pray that he doesn’t have the mind to crush you.  After all, you’re just trying to do your job being a good acorn and you never did anything to that kid…

It’s like that in life sometimes.  You’re minding your own business, trying to do your job—being a wife, a mother, an IT analyst, a professor, a buyer, whatever you strive to do… and all of a sudden someone comes along and thinks they’re bigger and better than you, or their kids are better than yours, or their career is more amazing and important than yours, and before you can blink it seems like their life mission is to crush you.  Stomp you.  Smash your dreams and put you down and put obstacles in your way just because “they can.”  Or “they don’t like you.”  Or maybe you are starting to believe the whispers of your imagination that say “you aren’t good enough.”

Really?  Not so fast.  Let’s get this straight: There are people all over the world who push and shove, but that doesn’t mean you have to become victim of pushers and shovers.  Rock stars are not victims.  There are people who will do anything to climb their way up whatever their personal ladder of success may be, including bury you in the process.  But being buried isn’t always such a bad thing.

Go back to the acorn analogy.  Have you ever thought about what can happen when an acorn gets buried?  If you find yourself in a circumstance where you’re “buried” in obstacles (including people who seem to create obstacles for you), do what the acorn does in order to grow into the towering, strong oak tree.

Use the power above. The acorn uses sunlight to grow—people use faith.  It’s the light in the world, the hope for a new day, and the warmth that gives life.  Be faithful that you are not meant to flounder in adversity forever—you are meant to grow from this challenge.  Unlike the acorn’s sun, which can be blocked by clouds or night fall, faith is something that is between you and your God—it is a personal relationship that no other person or thing or adversity has the power to take away or block.

Reach out to gain strength. The roots of the oak tree are far and wide because it takes a bit of outreach to get the nourishment to grow and the stability to stand strong.  When facing a challenge, don’t keep it all on your own shoulders.  Reach out to find the people and resources that will support your growth and stability.  Find loved ones who support you, find friends who can lend an ear, find opportunities to gain strength with others.  Just don’t do it alone.  Reach in different directions and in many places.  When you hit a road block, do what roots of the acorn tree do– change course, but keep reaching.  It’s not a straight path the all the resources you’ll need.

Use the soil to hold it all together. The soil is what buried you in the first place.  Adversity isn’t a negative thing that creates darkness unless you allow it to be negative.  Do as the acorn does and use it as your fuel to grow.  Use the adversity as a motivator and a challenge to “break through” the surface.  Remember the adversity will never go away—but how you choose to use it will determine what comes out of it.

Breathe a little. Plants need air to grow, and people need to take a deep breath once in a while, too.  Sometimes, stepping back from the problem at hand gives us the needed time to gain a new perspective and refresh our own ability to process things.  Inhale.  Exhale.  It’s what makes life keep happening and indeed, it’s how we grow.

Pass it on. When you find that you’ve overcome your adversity, you’ll discover one day that you have become stronger and more beautiful than you ever imagined.  The acorns on your tree are all the people in your life that you have the ability to touch and make a difference.  Nourish the acorns and pass on your strength to them, so that when they go their own way, they’ll be able to grow and be strong just like you have done.  Let the wind blow and the adversity come because sometimes you have to be buried in it before you can grow.

Until next time… enjoy your journey on your personal World Tour of Success.