All of us ought to be able to prepare for the predictable challenges and setbacks that crop up every day. If we expect that life won't be perfect， we'll be able to avoid an impelling force to quit. But even if you are strong enough to persist through the obstacle course of life and work， sometimes you will encounter an harmful event that will completely knock you on your back.

　　Whether it's a financial loss， the loss of respect of your peers or loved ones， or some other traumatic event in your life these major setbacks leave you doubting yourself and wondering if things can ever change for the better again.

　　Adversity happens to all of us， and it happens all the time. Some form of major adversity is either going to be there or it's lying in wait just around the corner. To ignore adversity is to yield to the ultimate self-delusion.

　　But you must recognize that history is full of examples of men and women who achieved greatness despite facing difficulties so steep that they easily could have crushed their spirit and left them lying in the dust. Moses was a stutterer， yet he was called on to be the voice of God. Abraham Lincoln over- came a difficult childhood， depression， the death of two sons，and constant ridicule during the Civil War to become arguably our greatest president ever. Helen Keller made an impact on the world despite being deaf， dumb， and blind from an early age. Franklin Roosevelt had polio.

　　There are endless examples. These were people who not only looked adversity in the face but learned valuable lessons about overcoming difficult circumstances and were able to move ahead.

　　成功是一种选择

　　我们每个人都应做好准备迎接每天的挫折和挑战。如果我们相信生活并非十全十美，我们就能避免一时冲动放弃追求。但即使你意志坚强，能够挺过生活、工作中的困难，有时你也会遇到逆境，它会让你大吃一惊。

　　无论你出现了经济损失，还是失去同辈及亲人的尊敬，或是遭受生命重创，这些大挫折都会使你对自己产生怀疑，并怀疑情况是否会再好转。

　　每个人都会遇到困境，且困境时常发生。有些大灾难不是立即发生就是待在角落等待时机。忽视逆境就是自我欺骗。

　　但你必须认识到历史上有许多例子讲述在克服重重困难之后才获得成功的人，那些困难之大足以使他们变得意志消沉，浮于尘世。摩西有口吃，但他后来却成 成为上帝的福音使者。阿伯拉罕·林肯克服了童年的困难、情绪低落时期，也克服了丧失两个儿子的痛苦及内战中 接踵而来的嘲笑，最终成为美国历史上无可置疑的最伟大的总统。尽管海伦·凯勒早年双目失明，双耳失聪，又是个哑巴，但她还是对世界产生了影响。而富兰克 林·罗斯福则患过小儿麻痹症。

　　这样的例子不胜枚举。这些人不仅大胆地面对困难，而且学到了克服困难的宝贵经验，然后勇往直前。