Concept of Adversity Quotient

Dr. Paul Stoltz defines Adversity Quotient as “the capacity of the person to deal with the adversities of his life. As such, it is the science of human resilience.”

Adversity Quotient (AQ), which tells how well one withstands adversity and his ability to triumph over it.

“An indicator of how you withstand adversity and your ability to overcome it.”

Definition of Adverse situation varies from individual to individual. For a school going child, exam result can be an adverse situation. For a corporate sales manager, monthly performance review can be an adverse situation. For an entrepreneur business loss can be adverse situation.

Fight with somebody is also an adverse situation. But to withstand and overcome this adverse situation one shall have high self belief and determination level.

People with the capacity to overcome adversity, regardless of their skills, intelligence or innate talents are much more likely to be successful at whatever they do.

In categorizing how people deal with adversity, Dr. Stoltz identified 3 different types of folks:

Climbers

• These are the folks that are destined for the top
• They let nothing stop them
• In business, climbers are those that no matter how many times they ‘fail’, they will pick themselves up and try again.

Campers

• Have had some success, perhaps even significant success, but have run up against a wall
• They need to rest for awhile OR they need to fall back and regroup/rethink their approach
• Perhaps they have met their goals and have not set new ones (so they are stagnating)
• The good news is campers can start climbing again anytime they choose!

Quitters are those who stop at:

• The first disappointment
• Their first couple of prospecting calls and they don’t get an appointment
• Their first meeting when nobody shows
• Their first presentation and the prospect says no
• Their own excuse of “This business really isn’t for me” because things got uncomfortable.
• The embarrassment of not succeeding right out of the starting blocks, and it’s not likely they will ever come back to it.

AQ – CORE

Control:

–  How much control do you perceive to have over the adverse event?

–  Greater perceived control leads to a more empowered and proactive approach.

Origin and Ownership:

–  Who or what was the or igin of the adversity?

–  To what degree do I own the outcomes?

–  Remorse, blame and critisism are compelling motivators – but only in measured doses

–  Accountability – to what degree am I responsible?

Reality:

–  How far will the outcomes affect the other areas of my life?

–  Overestimating the reality of the consequences is detrimental

Endurance:

–  How long will the adversity last?

–  How long will the cause of the adversity last?

–  Labelling yourself as “stupid” or as a “loser” is detrimental and is difficult to reverse

Techniques For Overcoming Low AQ

• Listen to your thought responses (are they high or low AQ?)
• Explore all origins and ownership of the result

• What are the possible origins of the adversity?
• What part was my fault?
• What specifically could I have done better?
• What aspects should I own?
• What aspects shouldn’t I own?

• Analyse the evidence
  • What evidence is there that I have no control?
  • What evidence is there that the adversity will affect the other areas of my life?
  • What other evidence is there that there will be prolonged consequences?
• Do Something
• What additional information do I need?
• What could I do to gain some control?
• What could I do to limit the reach of the adversity?
• What could I de to limit how long the adversity endures in its current state?

by

Manish Sharma

Information/matter collected from Articles and books written by Mr. Paul G. Stoltz