By Adam Porter

When you’re feeling down, when nothing seems to be going your way, and it feels like the world is crumbling around you—remember this: those feelings begin with thoughts. Negative thoughts attract negative circumstances. By law, the conditions of our lives are first created spiritually, before they ever take form physically. The outer world simply reflects the inner world. Our thoughts are the seed. Life is the mirror.

But there is a way to stop this spiral and interrupt the destructive momentum. You can do it by applying the Law of Relativity.

This law reminds us: no situation is inherently good or bad. It only seems that way when compared to something else. Your circumstances may feel terrible—until you compare them to something worse. That realization can completely shift your perspective and allow you to take back control of your thoughts.

I remember a time in my life when I was deeply discouraged. I had convinced myself I would never get married. “Who could ever love me?” I thought. My mind was filled with hopelessness, and those thoughts created a low vibration that repelled every good thing. I had attracted depression. I had attracted anxiety. My thoughts were building a wall between me and the life I wanted—until one event shifted everything.

In 2007, I was called to serve as a youth leader in my church. I love the youth, and I was all in. That summer, our church held a pioneer trek reenactment called The Second Rescue of the Martin Handcart Company. Youth were asked to choose an ancestor or pioneer to represent during the event. It was meant for them—but honestly, it ended up being for me.

My nephew represented our grandfather, John Rawlston Poole, one of the rescuers of the original party. I had the honor of representing Nathan Tanner Porter, another grandfather, who was a captain in the Hodgett company. Their group traveled closely with the Martin handcart company, and both parties were stranded in Wyoming during a brutal snowstorm in November 1856.

Living in Wyoming, I know just how severe winter can be. Temperatures can plunge to 40 or 60 below zero and stay there for weeks. These pioneers were underdressed, undernourished, and worn down—many had shoes with soles completely worn through. They battled frostbite, starvation, and exhaustion. They were so desperate, some chewed on leather just to ease their hunger. Of the 865 immigrants in those two companies, nearly 180 died from the cold, starvation, or fatigue. Many were buried in shallow graves because the ground was too frozen to dig properly.

Even more heartbreaking, not long after a burial, survivors could sometimes hear wolves descending upon the graves of their loved ones.

And still—they pressed on.

Some lost mothers, fathers, siblings, or children. But those who remained were rescued and continued forward to the Salt Lake Valley. They didn’t give up. They didn’t abandon their faith or their values, even though God didn’t temper the elements for them. They endured, and they reached their destination.

That trek changed my life. It opened my eyes. Compared to what those pioneers faced, my problems suddenly felt... small. The experience gave me a new lens through which to view my challenges. My circumstances hadn’t changed—but I had. That’s the power of the Law of Relativity.

Their tragedy became my teacher. Their legacy became my fuel.

So when you feel like giving up, remember this: what you're experiencing is only “bad” when compared to something “better.” It’s all relative. Take courage and keep going. Set an example for those around you. Be the one who presses forward and turns trials into triumphs.

Let the Law of Relativity shift your perspective—and everything else will follow.

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