Resilience

Do you ever have a moment when you wonder how you can endure yet another change or disappointment? Well if you have ever had that moment in life, then you are human. There is a good chance that like many others, life seems to be coming at you at supersonic speeds and you just don’t seem to get a chance to catch your breath before the next event is on top of you.

So how do we increase our resilience and our ability to bounce back when changes are happening so quickly that we don’t seem to have a chance to adjust or adapt. The answer is rather simple and is why many people over look it. First remember that while, there are few things in life that you can control, the one thing you can control is your attitude. By just changing our attitude or outlook we can change our entire response, reaction and entire day. This means we have to make an active choice to look at our options and to see the possibilities that exist rather than focusing on the obstacles. It is very easy to get focused on the problem instead of the solution, but that is a lot of wasted or unproductive energy. So when you’re feeling overwhelmed ask yourself, “How will my action or reaction change the outcome for me personally?” Your personal reaction rarely changes the outcome of a situation, but it can change the outcome for you. For example, I have seen people nearly emotionally explode, because something broke. Their emotional reaction will set off a great deal of responses to their body, which could result in unnecessary strain on their heart etc. When we step back and ask ourselves how will my reaction change the outcome, we realize a temper tantrum, won’t repair the broken item, it may make me look foolish to those watching and it likely won’t make me feel better, there are healthier ways to release tension. Finding a way to be in control of ourselves increases our resilience.

Another way to increase our resilience is surround ourselves with positive people. Look for people who have a positive outlook on life, who choose to see that there are options. Take a moment to celebrate today – regardless of what has happened in your life, you still have this moment and you can make the most of it. It is very easy to be caught up in the negative events of life and of the world, but worry rarely added time to a person’s life expectancy. I would rather be in control of trying to add time to life, then giving up time on worry. “After all life isn’t about counting the days we have. It is about making the days we have count! “C.Krosky.