Have you ever met a person who, despite all the terrible, tragic events that befall him or her, never seems to be thwarted and lives life as normally a possible:  And have you ever seen a person who, after a minor sadness occurs, never seems to recover from it for days or months or years?  What is it that makes these two people such polar opposites?  Surely, it does not mean one person is "better" than the other.   The answer is a bit more complex.  The big difference between these two people is they have different personality traits.  So, if it is personality traits that define how a person reacts to a hardship, what are these traits? 

The first trait that helps a person through a period of strife is a trait that is often shown, but not always seen for what it is.  I am talking about faith.  At first, one's mind immediately jumps to religion.  However, although faith is key in religion, religion is not required to have faith.  By faith, I just mean a belief that there is some purpose or value to life.  If a person simply believes that life is just a complete coincidence, and that there is no purpose to life, they have a very bleak outlook, and are less than likely to recover from tragedy.  A person with faith in some purpose is much less likely to be destroyed by calamity.  In a way, faith blends with optimism; they both see a real reason for life.

Another important feature to a personality that will greatly aid in case of disaster is just a good sense of humor about things.  A sense of humor allows one to make life's troubles a little easier to bear.  The most terrible disasters can't be stopped by a joke, but the smaller, more common breed of troubles can always be thwarted through humor.  Any snag can be seen in two ways, one way with humor, the other in the dreary, standard way of mind.  For instance, when in the movie, "Patch Adams", a patient's treatment will cost him a large amount of money.  The doctor, who is the main character, must inform the patient of this.  Had the doctor been a dry, humorless physician, he would have simply handed the man the bill, and maybe would try to sympathize with the indebted.  Of course, the patient was actually comedic.  When he solemnly handed the patient the bill he informed him that "The hospital will pay all charges."  The patient stared at the the doctor, puzzled.   Then, however, the doctor tuned his head to the side, revealing the long, fake nose he had strapped on over is own.  (You get the reference to Pinocchio, right?)  Seeing this, the patient starts to laugh, and for some reason, the bill doesn't seem quite so bad anymore.

One of the final things that will help a person pull through hard times is responsibility.  When a person feel responsible for something, they will generally put that thing before many things in their list of priorities.  No matter what that thing turns out to be, in the end it is still enough to give them reason to go on with their lives.  Often, a parent's devotion to their children will give them reason to go on with their life.  In fact, people who say they have nothing to live for often will succumb to depression.  In a way, this ties into the first attribute, faith; a person's responsibility may be to their god or belief.  However, a person's responsibility may be to one of their very many things such as a job, club, their community, or friends, family, or any other thing a person wishes to make some impact on.

With this relatively short essay, I hope to have listed some of the characteristics and traits that will help one prevail over depression and torpor.  although there are still many other qualities that I did not cover, these are the most important ones I can think of.  In a way, these traits, although seemingly unimportant, can actually create a great separation between those who are hardy enough to endure calamities, and those who will cry over spilt milk..  Of course, if you so happen to know someone who is one of the "spilt milk" people, just remember that these traits, or lack thereof, will not mean they are scummy vermin, and those whom possess these qualities are not guaranteed hero's.  All I intended to show in this essay was the most important characteristics that help a person overcome hardship.