By Monica Zollinger

Have you ever ridden a Ferris wheel? You get buckled in, and then wait what feels like forever just to reach the top. If you glance across, there’s always someone seated on the opposite side. When you're at the top, you know someone else is at the bottom. Then we begin to move. Around and around we go—up and down, up then down, again and again. That’s life. The journey is full of highs and lows, and joy can be found in all of it.

The Law of Polarity teaches that everything in life has its opposite. And we get to choose which end of the pole we want to experience.

During a training when I staffed for Woodbadge, I was assigned to lead a team activity. My instructions were to act like a type A leader—clear, commanding, in charge. So I went all in. Even when team members had other ideas or suggestions, I insisted on doing it my way. I kept pushing them, cheering them on, telling them to give it their best. And we lost. Badly. Everyone was frustrated with me. Looking back, I realized that had I listened—had I let them step into the roles where they felt they could serve best—we might have actually succeeded. That experience taught me something powerful: I could lead like Satan—controlling, forceful, stripping others of their agency—or I could lead like Christ, inviting and empowering others to choose. Both options lived inside of me. The results depended on which way I turned, and how much space I gave others to choose for themselves.

Napoleon Hill said, “Every adversity brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage.” In other words, in every challenge, there is the potential for something equally powerful and good. He tells the story of his son, born without visible ears and expected to be deaf and mute. But Hill refused to see it as a limitation. Instead, he planted the belief in his son that his condition was not a liability—but a unique asset. In his final week of college, Blair received a special hearing device that allowed him to hear as well as anyone. He eventually worked with the device manufacturer and dedicated his life to helping the hard of hearing. His challenge became the very thing that shaped his mission.

Within each of us are opposites: good and bad, light and dark, rich and poor, leader and follower. The Law of Polarity reminds us that we have access to both—and the power to choose. When adversity strikes, we can use this law to shift our focus toward the growth and potential hidden inside the difficulty.

Even through pain, loss, and heartache, we still have a choice. We can choose to be happy—or not. We will face countless tests in this life, but each one is an opportunity to prove who we are and who we want to become. Through repentance, we can learn, be forgiven, and continue progressing toward our eternal potential.

Is it always easy to believe that? No. Not when we see wars, hunger, injustice, cruelty, or grief. But if we look, we can also see beauty, kindness, generosity, life, and love. One of the most precious gifts God has given us is agency—the power to choose. So whether you’re riding high or low on the Ferris wheel of life, remember: you get to choose how you experience the ride.

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•   To discover how to start choosing more effectively now, read The Jackrabbit Factor (FREE!)  
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