Voluntary Adversity

[DISCLAIMER]

As an overweight child, I was required to participate in the Presidential Fitness Test along with other children. Regarding this matter, one source describes the test thusly:

The Presidential Fitness Test was a national physical fitness testing program conducted in United States public middle and high schools from the late 1950s until 2013 […] fitness testing and physical training for children increased in schools and garnered attention from governmental agencies, as they were linked to preparedness for combat.

One requirement was for children to run, participate in a softball throw, and for boys to complete pull-ups in addition to other timed and measured training events. I recall despising the test. After all, I didn’t want to physically exert myself. I wanted “easy” and “fun” activities.

Besides, I was raised under the doctrine of Jehovah’s Witnesses under which military service was strongly discouraged. As such, I disturbed myself quite a bit with unhelpful beliefs about being required to participate in the Presidential Fitness Test.

If you’re unfamiliar with Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), you may find it odd that I framed the matter as I did in that last sentence. For clarity, allow me to explain two main REBT tools after first defining adversity—a state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune.

Tool number one is the ABC model. This technique demonstrates how when undesirable Adversity occurs and a person maintains irrational Beliefs about the event, it’s one’s unhelpful attitude and not the situation itself that causes unpleasant Consequences (e.g., fear, anger, etc.).

For example, I was required to participate in the Presidential Fitness Test (Adversity) and I unproductively Believed, “This is awful, because I shouldn’t have to do whatever I don’t want to do! In fact, I ought to do easy and fun activities!” With that unhelpful attitude, I experienced anger (Consequence).

In order to resolve the experience of self-inflicted suffering, Disputation of unproductive assumptions is used so that an individual can discover and implement Effective new beliefs. Use of this tool requires personal responsibility and accountability for one’s own reactions.

For instance, when involuntarily subjected to the Presidential Fitness Test (Adversity), I could’ve instead productively Believed, “Although I don’t want to participate, this is a nationwide requirement for all children and it isn’t truly awful.” I then likely would’ve experienced disappointment (Consequence).

When practicing REBT with clients, I invite people to consider that an unmet desire may result in disappointment when using an Effective new belief. For many people, disappointment is preferable to a self-disturbed and unhealthy negative emotion, such as unproductive anger.

Tool number two of REBT is the practice of unconditional acceptance (UA). This is accomplished through use of unconditional self-acceptance, unconditional other-acceptance, and unconditional life-acceptance.

As an example, the product of my self-Disputed irrational Belief that rendered an Effective new belief up above produced a UA outcome. Without placing unnecessary conditional demands upon oneself, others, and life, I could’ve transitioned from anger to disappointment as a preferable Consequence of what I told myself.

Here, there are two points worth considering when using REBT. One, Adversities and Consequences aren’t Disputed, as only unproductive Beliefs are challenged. Adversities will inevitably occur. However, the manner in which we respond to them can make a world of difference.

Two, from a psychological standpoint, people disturb themselves using a Belief-Consequence (B-C) connection. Of course, this isn’t to suggest that in the context of the naturalistic or physical world there is no Adversity-Consequence (A-C) connection.

Colloquially speaking, people tend to believe that an A-C connection is what causes personal disturbance. However, it’s the B-C connection with which people disturb themselves. Thus, taking personal ownership over how you react to Adversity is an important component of REBT.

This was an important lesson for me to understand, even before I learned of REBT. For instance, after graduating high school I rebelled against the dogmatic traditions up with which I was raised by enlisting in the United States Marine Corps.

While enrolled in the Delayed Entry Program, awaiting a ship-off date for Marine Corps Recruit Training, I opted for a form of chosen suffering – or voluntary adversity – by preparing myself for the physical rigors of military life. Noteworthy, in a blogpost entitled Chosen Suffering, I stated:

Think of some worthwhile accomplishment you consider rewarding. (Yes, I acknowledge the subjectivity inherent herein.)

Examples could be akin to graduating Marine boot camp, completing a college degree, raising a child, running 100 miles through a desert while shitting yourself, or even having achieved a personal record for your self-care fitness routine. Now ask yourself, did your accomplishment come easily?

Was there some degree of suffering associated with the process? If you shy away from the term “suffering,” perhaps you prefer “discomfort.” Did you experience discomfort in your journey to success?

What I addressed in Chosen Suffering was a method of building resilience, or what in REBT is known as increasing one’s own capacity for high frustration tolerance (HFT). The self-defeating belief of low frustration tolerance says, “I can’t stand this!”

However, a resilient HFT narrative says, “I can do this, or at least I’ll try to be successful at it!” Thus, even when knowing nothing about REBT, I worked on HFT before shipping off to Marine boot camp by voluntarily taking part in self-assigned events of the Presidential Fitness Test.

My efforts paid off, because I performed relatively well in Marine Corps Recruit Training and elsewhere during my military service thereafter. Voluntary adversity afforded me an opportunity not only to strengthen my body, though to fortify my mind.

Now that I professionally practice REBT, I try to help other people increase their level of functioning and improve their quality of life through voluntary adversity exercises (i.e., negotiated homework related to a holistic standard of care). Here, “easy” and “fun” aren’t the goals.

In fact, in order to attain success with one’s interests and goals of a mental, emotional, and behavioral health variety, I encourage people to practice voluntary adversity so that they may better deal with involuntary Adversity when it inevitably occurs. Think about it.

The more you practice resilience by showing yourself that although voluntary adversity may not be “easy” or “fun,” your ability to practice HFT has been fortified through repeated success from activities such as physical training. Thus, you’ll be more likely to tolerate and accept involuntary Adversity.

For instance, I couldn’t perform a single pull-up for the Presidential Fitness Test when I was an overweight child. Knowing this, I voluntarily and rigorously practiced both pull-ups and chin-ups while enrolled in the Delayed Entry Program. Therefore, I performed well in boot camp.

It was neither easy nor fun developing callouses on my hands, experiencing muscular hypertrophy, or enduring many failed attempts to pull my body up from a dead-hang position to where my chin could clear a bar. In fact, it sucked at first – and for quite some time thereafter.

Yet, the more I trained my body to perform, the more my mind was fortified by a resilient outlook. Voluntary adversity through physical training had a helpful secondary effect. When experiencing involuntary Adversity in the Marines, I was able to tolerate undesirable events.

Admittedly, attempting to influence people to push through the discomfort necessary to achieve this level of physiological and psychological preparedness is difficult at times. Apparently, many people unhelpfully believe that physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral health should be easy or fun.

However, it’s unlikely that involuntary Adversity will be easy or fun. Therefore, in the interest of resilience-building, I invite people to use UA when opting for voluntary adversity. What will you choose? Are you ready to get after it by discarding unhelpful beliefs and choosing voluntary adversity?

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

Photo credit, fair use

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