Adversity is the Mother of Reinvention

“If necessity is the mother of invention, then adversity is the mother of reinvention” Joanna Lohman

Former pro-soccer player Joanna Lohman shared her thoughts on reinventing yourself after adversity in a recent Talking Toughness Podcast. We will all encounter adversity, whether that is a significant injury, relationship breakdown, business issues or maybe just a run of bad luck.

Adversity is a stimulant for regeneration or ‘moulting’, just like the dungeness crab which will moult 30-40 times in its life, even replacing its own legs! Moulting gives us a chance to decide what stays and what goes. We need to learn the ability to overcome adversity, ‘Snow plough’ parents are becoming more and more common… pushing snow (adversity) out the way so their children don’t learn to deal with their problems…. a downside of privilege nowadays.

What happens if we don’t moult? If our identity is so tightly wrapped around a specific vision of what was, we don’t have the ability of acceptance or evolution. Success should evolutionary. It should be about pushing our own boundaries, expanding our comfort zone and facing resistance.

27. Talking Toughness Podcast with Joanna Loman (part one). Doug Strycharczyk

Emily Catford

Emily's background is in Sports Science, Neurolinguistic Programming as well as human therapies and animal physiotherapy. Emily graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2014. She runs a busy therapy clinic on Exmoor and works in rugby union. Emily has two horses; Trevor and Archie and has competed to advanced level in dressage.