What is the secret ingredientof tough people that enables them to succeed?Why do they survive the tough times when others are overcome by them? Why do they win when others lose? Why do they soar when others sink?

    The answer is very simple. It's allin how they perceive their problems. Yes, every living person has problems. A problem-free life isanillusion-a miragein the desert. Accept that fact.

    Every mountain has a peak. Every valley has its low point. Life has its ups and downs, its peaks and its valleys.No one is up all the time,nor are they down all the time. Problems do end. They are all resolved in time.

    You may not be able to control the times, but you can compose your response. You can turn your pain into profanity -or into poetry. The choice is up to you. You may not have chosen your tough time, but you can choose how you will react to it.

    For instance, what is the positive reaction to a terrible financial setback? In this situation would it be the positive reaction to copout and runaway? Escape through alcohol, drug, or suicide? No! Such negative reactions only produce greater problems by promising a temporary solution to the pressing problem.

    The positive solution to a problem may require courage to initiate it. When you control your reaction to the seemingly un-controllable problemof life, then in fact you do control the problem's effect on you. Your reaction to the problem is the last word! That's the bottom line. What will you let this problem do to you? It can make you tender or tough.It can make you better or bitter. It all depends on you.

    In the final analysis, the tough people who survive the tough times do so because they've chosen to react positively to their predicament. Tough times never last, but tough people do. Tough people stick it out. History teaches us that every problem has a lifespan.

    No problem is permanent. Storms always give way to the sun. Winter always thaws into springtime. Your storm will pass. Your winter will thaw. Your problem will be solved.

    堅韌不撥的人成功的秘訣是什么？他們為什么能挺過艱難的時刻，而其他人卻被困難所壓倒？為什么成功的是他們，而失敗的是其他人？為什么他們一飛沖天，而其他人都深陷泥沼？

    答案很簡單，全看他們是如何看待自己面臨的難題。不錯，人人有本難念的經。沒有難題困擾的人生只能是一個幻想，是沙漠中的海市蜃樓。還是接受這個事實吧。

    每一座山都有巔峰，每一個峽谷都有深底。人生也有興衰起伏，不會有人一生都時乖命蹇。難題總有了結的一天。隨著時間的推移，一切難題都會迎刃而解。

    你也許不能控制時勢，可是你能夠冷靜應對。你既可以把痛苦轉換為怨天尤人的詛咒，也可以賦予之以詩意，這全在于你自己的選擇。時運不濟的你或許無從選擇，但是你可以選擇應對的方略。

    譬如，遭遇一次嚴重的經濟挫折，究竟怎么做才稱得上積極應對呢？放棄而后潛逃？借酒澆愁？吸毒麻醉？抑或自殺？這樣的逃避是積極應對嗎？當然不是！這樣一些消極的反應似乎暫時解決了迫在眉睫的難題，但事實上只會招致更棘手的難題。

    積極的應對只能是鼓起勇氣著手解決。對于人生中看似無法控制的難題，當你能夠控制自己的應對，那么你就事實上控制了難題對你的影響。你對難題的應對是至關重要的、最根本的。難題能對你產生什么樣的影響呢？它可以使你脆弱，也可以使你堅強；它可以使你升華，也可以使你痛苦。全在于你自己。

    歸根結底，堅韌的人之所以能挺過艱難的歲月，是因為他們選擇積極地去應對困境。艱難的歲月不會沒完沒了，堅韌的人會始終不懈，堅持到底。歷史告訴我們，每一個難題都有始有終，任何難題都不會永遠存在。

    暴風雨過后一定是燦爛的陽光。嚴冬必然會化為春光。你的暴風雨也會過去，你的冬天也會回暖。你的難題終將解決。