Life Lesson 9:
How do I overcome adversity?
Use the ABCDE Strategy to
build resilience.
© Paul T. P. Wong
Overview
 Life is full of suffering
 Need to develop a tragic sense of life
 Need realistic stress appraisal
 Need to understand the Resource-
Congruence Model
 Frankl’s concept of Tragic Optimism
 The ABCDE Intervention
Have a Tragic Sense of Life
 “In this world you will have trouble.”
- Jesus
 The first noble truth of Buddhism: Life is
full of suffering
 Every life is touched by tragedy
 Having a tragic sense of life offers you the
best preparation for the tragedies of life
A tragic sense of life is an effective
inoculation against tragedies.
What matters most is how you
react to adversity.
3 Common Responses to Adversity
1) Catastrophizing: Creating unnecessary
anxieties & suffering
2) Trivializing: Ignoring the real danger &
believing in delusions
3) Assessing it rationally: Appraising the
situation realistically
Importance of Appraisal
Primary appraisal – Is it neutral, beneficial,
or harmful?
Secondary appraisal – Is it controllable by
self, by others or beyond human control?
Reappraisal – Have I under- or overestimated my ability to manage the situation?
Resource-Congruence Model
 Do I have the needed resources
(external & internal)?
 Do I have the appropriate coping
responses?
 If the answer to both is affirmative, then
we don’t experience stress
A Case of Exaggerated Appraisal:
The Process of Catastrophizing
Coping with Real Trauma
 Religious coping
 Existential coping
 Re-telling the story
 Practicing tragic optimism
Components of Tragic Optimism (TO)
Acceptance of the bleak reality
Belief in the value and meaning of life
Self-transcendence (altruism)
Faith in God and others
Courage to face adversity
The Power of Acceptance
Accept what cannot be changed
Accept responsibility not for what
has happened but for how to cope
Learn to let go in order to move
forward
Self-transcendence enhances the
well-being of both self and others.
Courage empowers you to expand your
hope beyond the walls that confine you.
A Good Example of Tragic Optimism
ABCDE Intervention
• Accept and confront reality – the reality principle
• Believe that life is worth living – the faith principle
• Commit to goals and actions – the action principle
• Discover the meaning and significance of self and
situations – the Aha! Principle
• Evaluate the above – the self-regulation principle
The Power of Acceptance
The Power of Belief
Commitment =
Passion + Action + Persistence
The Joy of Self-Discovery
Learning something new about the self and life
Digging deeper, exploring further, and higher.
Discovering one’s hidden talents and strength.
Discovering the power of faith and spiritual resources.
Grasping the complexities of life and people.
Enjoyment & Evaluation
Savoring small successes and re-assessing one’s progress
•Feeling relief that the worst is over
•Monitoring progress
•Savoring the moments of small success
•Reflecting and reviewing one’s life
•Receiving feedback from others
•Conducting assessments and making adjustments
Growing Stronger through Struggle
Adversity provides a better foundation
for life than prosperity.