The story of Tom Dempsey is one of excellence, endurance, and a never give up attitude that is the signature of any good hollywood movie.

Tom Dempsey was a kicker in the NFL, but he was so much more than that. He gained immense popularity after he scorded a record-breaking goal. He scored a 63 yard field goal to win his team, the Orleans Saints the match. If you’re not much of an NFL fan, the average field goal attempt distance is about 35 yards. Tom Dempsey almost doubled that.

He became an overnight sensation. Everyone was dumb-founded by his achievement and raw talent. A name that most people didn’t even know before that match, became the star of every newspaper headline.

While this story is impressive in itself. A young boy who won his team the match in the last second of the game, with a kick that broke all records. The backstory makes it even more inspiring.

Tom Dempsey was born without toes on his right foot, and missed 4 fingers on his right hand. In his early career, as you can imagine, no team wanted him. His teammates would tease him, and coaches didn’t believe he had what he took to be part of the team.

One day, a coach so his potential, and signed him in the San Diego Chargers. The journey wasn’t easy from there either though. He spent his first year in the practise squad. Basically the team that never played any real games.

When he eventually got a chance to play in the main squad, he dominated. He had a standout career, despite all the challenges he faced.

Becoming a kicker in the NFL is an unbelievale accomplishment in itself. He became a star kicker without toes or fingers.

And you best believe that his disability caused him a lot of issues and setbacks, but he rose above all of it.

From a young age, Dempsey’s parents made sure that he never used his disability as an excuse. He played all the sports just like his other friends did.

Dempsey had a mindset that he may be different, but he’s not inferior. His disability never got in the way of his determination.

He always called himself an athlete, not just a kicker.

And, despite all the adversities he endured, he ended up becoming one of the most famous and most successful kickers of all time.

Stories like this inspire all of us. The boy who went up against all odds, and came out the other side a winner. These underdog stories feel nice.

All of us have to overcome adversity at some stage in life. And, it’s never pleasant. No one wants to have to struggle. No one wants to have to suffer.

But, when we adversity inevitably finds us, how we deal with it is what shapes us as individuals.

Suffering is viewed as a negative experience. It’s something we try really hard to escape. Our materialistic tendencies stem from the very hope that we don’t have to suffer.

And trying to escape suffering has done a lot of good for humanity too. In our attempt to avoid pain, modern medicine has reached a point where it can cure most diseases, and life expectancy has over doubled since the 1900s.

Quality of life is much better. Yet, time and time again, suffering and pain finds it’s way back into life. Whether that be through financial circumstances, arguments with friends, loneliness, death or any other negative experience, pain and suffering are constants in life.

Adverisities find us, whether we like it or not. Dealing with it appropriately is what matters.

Belief, and hope are perhaps the best, and the only way to deal with suffering. Having the belief that things will get better is what helps you overcome the struggles.

If you’re religious, this becomes slightly easier. As you can reframe the adveristy as God’s plan. You have the belief that someone somewhere out there is looking out for you. You have the belief, you have the hope, that you are exactly where you need to be, and this too, shall pass.

But, if your non-religious, finding such a belief can be tricky.

What’s key in this entire matter though is the ability to reframe the problem. To successfully overcome adversity, you must shift your perspective in a benefiting way.

When adverisity finds its way into life, the adverisity itself isn’t the problem. The problem is how we view the adveristy, and how we set out to overcome.

American psycologist, Benjamin Bloom examined the life’s of some of America’s most successful people. He studied their behaviours, their circumstances and how they managed to achieve the great feats they achieved.

Bloom found results completely opposite to normal belief. He found that most high achievers were not child prodigies, or they weren’t unblievably intelligent. The reason they were successful wasn’t because they were talented.

Their success came from their their determination to the be the very best. It came from their mindset. A mindset that believes that they are more than capable of achieving whatever they want. A mindset that believes that they can overcome any adversity they face.

Tom Dempsey, our star NFL kicker, didn’t let his disability to get in the way of his dreams. His adverisity had all the power to prevent him from reaching great heights, but he overcame it. How? Because he shifted his perception away from the problem.

Tom Dempsey was able to reframe the problem. And his determination to be the very best he can possibly be, did the rest.

When we are encountered with pain and suffering, it’s easy to drown in the problem. Our mind makes the problem even worse by going in the downward spiral. But what makes everything significantly worse is when we believe that our pain is special, it’s unique.

The problem gets significantly worse when we start pittying ourself, or when we believe that this pain is unfair.

Because then the problem isn’t the obstacle anymore. The problem is us. The problem is our mindset.

In such situations, it is absolutely vital not to let ourselves into this state. It’s important to see things with clarity. Of course, this is much easier said than done.

One of the greates spiritual leaders, the Dalai Lama, shares how he copes with adverisities in his book, ‘The Art of Happiness’.

The Dalai Lama says that “If I encunterr obstacles or problems, I find it helpful to stand back and take the long-term view rather the short term-view. In this regard, I find that thinking about one particular verse gives me courage and helps me sustain my determination. The verse says:

As long as space endures
As long as sentient beings remain
May I too live
To dispel the miseries of the world

This verse represents the vow to take on other’s suffering. It reminds us that our purpose on Earth is greater than what we percieve. It reminds us that we must help every one.

Shifting perspective is the first step when dealing with adversity. It’s reminding ourselves that we have a purpose in life. At the most basic level, we have a purpose to help our fellow human beings.

Reframing your adversity this way helps you overcome it. Because you are no longer absorbed by the self-pitty. You no longer feel helpless. Because you have a prupose to serve, whatever that may be, and this adversity can’t stop you.

Tom Dempsey believed that he wants to be an athlete. Missing toes and fingers wouldn’t stop him.

Not being consumed by the challenge is key, but it so much easier said than done. It’s very, very easy to let the problem consume you. But remembering that regardless of what the problem is, you have full control over how you react to it can make the challenge slightly easier.

Reminding yourself that this pain has a purpose to serve, and reminding yourself of your overall purpose in life allows you to reshift focus, and helps overcome adveristy.

I think another thing that’s really important to do is to remember that no matter what the obstacle is, it’s only temperary. You will overcome the problem, as long as you believe.

And like I mentioned, whether that belief is from a religious stand point, or from the belief that you have a purpose to serve, having a belief is the most crucial thing.