Born in Kenya, blind long-distance runner Henry Wanyoike has loved running since childhood. At the age of 21, he had a stroke that made him blind, causing him to be despondent and withdrawn.

But with the support and encouragement of his friends, and by his own determination and perseverance, he lifted himself up to become an outstanding athlete and won a gold medal for his country in the Paralympic Games.

Surely no one would think that blindness is a pleasurable experience. But Wanyoike succeeded in turning adversity into success with a positive and optimistic attitude.

Nearly everyone wishes to succeed in everything they do and have all their dreams come true. However, there are inevitably ups and downs in life. This is as natural as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west every day.

Once a person has experienced both success and adversity, he or she will not feel hopeless in adversity or overjoyed in success, and will always be prepared for hardship.

Self-cultivation is achieved after being put through the tests of success and adversity. A child will cry when being denied candy; a young lad who is crossed in love may foolishly harm himself; students may give up after failing in an examination. 

These setbacks often seem to be most important to the people concerned at the time. But as time passes and with widened horizons and life experiences, they will seem to be no big deal.

Adversity quotient matters

Everyone is bound to meet with some unpleasant experience, such as a family dispute, conflict with peers, a health problem or a setback at work. While some people might try to evade the problem or give up on themselves, others choose to face up to the difficulties. The choice depends on one's adversity quotient.

Adversity quotient is actually one's attitude towards dealing with different situations in life. One usually feels frightened and weak in adversity, and might even question one's own ability. But if we treat adversity as challenge and succeed in overcoming the difficulties, we will draw great satisfaction and self-confidence from the achievement.

Life is in fact made up of intertwining strands of success and adversity, and it is often in times of crisis that the light of human nature shines more brightly.

So how can we equip ourselves to cope with adversity and change our fate like Wanyoike did, instead of resigning to it? In terms of mindset, we must control our emotions and see the bright side of an adverse situation with an optimistic attitude.

In terms of action, we must not only enhance our knowledge, but also broaden our mind and vision through understanding others' experience to learn to face adversity.

On the other hand, we must not be ostentatious in success. Remember, we lose by pride and gain by modesty. Remember to share your achievements and joy with others. It is more respectable to help those in need than to give to those who already have too much.