Theodore Roosevelt & The Ceaseless Smile: Happiness in the Face of Adversity

It is an undeniable fact that difficulty and struggle are inherent components of our everyday life. There are many ways to respond to those struggles and those responses often dictate our happiness and well being. Just because something is difficult or uncomfortable does not necessarily mean it cannot be perceived in a positive light. Theodore Roosevelt exemplified this mindset in nearly every component of his life. Whether it was chasing a caribou for 36 straight hours or sifting through hundreds of pages of complex legislation, Roosevelt always maintained his passionate enthusiasm and magnetic smile.

 

In one particular situation, while hunting buffalo in the badlands of North Dakota, his guide experienced this first hand. From the onset, the expedition had been an unmistakably dreary affair. Despite relentless rain so cold as to turn his hands blue, interspersed with blistering heat and sleepless nights, Theodore maintained a ceaseless smile and unrelenting cheerfulness amidst the treacherous and formidable badlands landscape. His exhausted guide reflected upon that week with bewilderment and awe at the impenetrable smile Teddy maintained despite some of the most uncomfortable of situations. This stood as an ongoing motif and defining characteristic throughout his life, with nearly everyone he knew commenting on this singular and remarkable aspect of his personality.

I was reminded of Theodore while hiking  a steep and strenuous trail in Aspen, Colorado. If the exhausting incline wasn't enough, an afternoon thunderstorm came in halfway up the trail. Cold, wet and my thighs aching, I thought how would Roosevelt have responded? He would have embraced this moment with an excited grin. Everyday we get opportunities to test how we will respond. Will a difficult situation create internal distress, or will it strengthen ones resiliency? While the outside environment is often unpredictable and ever changing, our response to those situations defines who we are and how we feel. I finished that hike smiling and peacefully content thinking as Teddy would have put it, "This is dee-lightfull!"