We are in a time when it is more important than ever to Be Resilient. We are in uncharted territory as we face our entire word in the middle of a Pandemic. We have a new President stepping in shortly with rumors of a complete shut down again. The unknown is smacking us straight in the face. We must be resilient to survive and thrive through this!
Resiliency in not a new concept. In fact, as a speaker, I have been sharing a Keynote titled: “Be Resilient – Discover the Gifts in Your Garbage” for quite a while now. In fact, that was my #1 chosen topic for all my speaking and training in 2018.
To Be Resilient it takes effort. It takes Perseverance and Strength. The definition of Resilient states: “The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.” It is also: “The ability to recover from setbacks, adapt well to change, and keep going in the face of adversity.”
We cannot prevent adversity, but adversity or challenges can make us more resilient. Resilience is the ability to “bounce back” from a difficult challenge. Would you say that we are in the middle of one of the most difficult challenges our entire World has seen in a long time?
We are facing illness, quarantine, closed businesses and churches, not to mention all schools are shut down and doing it all online. For most of us, we have NEVER experienced anything like this! Our Economy is in a free fall with no sign of how it will recover or the timeline for it. Yes, we are in crucial, mind boggling situations with thousands, even tens of thousands dying. This is incomprehensible! Yet, We Must Survive…and if you go about this right, when it is all over, I can even say that you could THRIVE as we move through this and come out on the other side.
When you see the tree in this picture, do you think that it was easy to grow on the side of a complete rock cliff? Did it have the best circumstances for a successful life? NO! Yet it stands tall and beautifully shows itself reaching upward for the sun and water and is magnificent.
Resilience allows us to face this entire struggle, our difficult challenge and overcome it. Only when we come out of it, are we stronger with new skills and levels of knowledge that we did not have before.
To do this, you must accept that things are different right now, however that may look. You must stop running from it, like staying in bed too long or spending too much time getting lost in a new series on television.
You need to boost yourself by setting goals in areas like health and wellness and things that push you to new levels. When we boost our well-being and take on goals that will keep us moving forward and keep us in a state of success, we are stronger, happier, and better prepared for what lies ahead. It will also assist us in staying out of overwhelm, discouragement and despair.
Resilience is built by having confidence in yourself, that you can and will do this! It is believing that you can get through this and while doing it you will learn new ways to cope with all that is coming at us. It will assist you to work through your problems, the changes that we are facing and learn better and more effective ways to handle the negative thoughts or emotions that you are feeling. It will help you stay out of FEAR and allow you to move forward with strength, being a leader and having success.
When things are in upheaval and can’t be changed, resilience will give you the opportunity to rely on your values, your character, being flexible while creative, yet still being able to have the ability to laugh and enjoy yourself through it all, even the toughest of times.
I have created an acronym from the words: BE RESILIENT. I know you are thinking “Of course you did!” This is an acronym built on “How to be more Resilient” and I would love to share it with you. The video that is goes with this article goes over each of the words that I give you in this acronym. You should spend the 15 minutes or so to hear and watch it, but I will share it here for you as well:
BE RESILIENT acronym:
B=BRAVE Get out of FEAR. Go to Courage that you can and will do this. Be honest and allow yourself to be vulnerable as you share with others. Keep Going. You can do this.
E= EXAMINE Assess your situation, what can you do and what do you need to change? What is working and what is not working? Take a good look and decide how you are going to handle it. PLAN.
R=REVIEW Go to Stop, Look and Listen. This will assist you as you evaluate your circumstances and determine your next steps. Find WIIFT “What’s In It For Them? Your co-workers, your family, etc.
E=EXERCISE Exercise Positivity, Faith and Perseverance! Make sure you are having Movement with your body – getting fresh air and the peace you find in nature. Exercise being the Victor NOT the Victim!
S=STRENGTH Be Strong. Allow your Leadership to come forward and be a Leader. Own your Confidence and allow yourself to Be All that YOU Can BE. Be Motivational for others. You Can DO Hard Things!
I=IDENTIFY Dial in on your FOCUS. Focus on what you GET to do. Become a Problem Solver. Identify the emotions you are feeling and what you get to do about them. Find your true Purpose.
L=LONGEVITY Trust Yourself. Trust the Process. Persevere. You are in this for the long haul. Stick to it even when it is hard or frustrating. Find your Vision of where this is going and the good that will be there.
I=INTEGRITY Stay strong in your Values and Characteristics. Be who you know you are! Be TRUE to YOU. Hold yourself accountable for your actions, your emotions, your feelings, and your process.
E=EMBRACE Embrace Change. Be willing to look for ways to solve the challenge. Look for the Growth. Put in the Effort. Be positive and do not allow criticism in. Be Inspiring. Do what it takes.
N=NURTURE Lean in to self-care. Be willing to nurture yourself through this process. Be forgiving of yourself and others. Serve others through this process. Lift Others. Nurture your relationships. Serve!
T=TAKE ACTION Do Not Quit! Take Action to create momentum. Keep Moving Forward. Move through the Challenge with Strength and Fortitude. Come out Stronger than Before. Achieve New Levels for Yourself!
Yes, this is quite the list! BUT, if you will Trust the Process. This will work!!!
Look at how this tree has created the strength to Stand. It has done everything it could to survive and thrive! You can too! It does not matter what you are facing…a Pandemic, a takeover of your company, a huge economy slide or a relationship in your life. This WORKS! I know it does, as I have faced it head on when our son had brain tumors….TWICE.
I faced it when my twin brother took his own life. I faced it when my husband had an ATV accident with a head injury and was not the same person for over two years. I faced it when we invested large amounts of money into a business and then the business went belly up! I faced it when we had five significant deaths of loved ones in less than two years, 4 of them being under the age of 42 and tragic hard deaths. I faced it when I was in deep depression and I am facing it now with the pandemic and all my speaking and training bookings have been cancelled or postponed. I promise you; YOU can do this and YOU will be better for it!!
Here is to YOU!!!! You’ve Got This!! BE RESILIENT!!