Creating Connection Through Resilience

Our world is a little sideways right now. Everywhere in the world is experiencing this same inversion.

We are getting through it. That is the thing for us to concentrate on. We hope we are in the home stretch but we just don’t know. It is scary to not know and the uncertainty is screaming at us all. But we are pulling together, the whole world, and we are exhausted and confused collectively.

Researchers have long said that resilience is the element that makes the difference in how we experience hardship. Resilience is composed of many characters. One is the ability to choose what we focus on and how we do it. Where we stare we steer so it is important to be mindful of our focus. Is it a positive or a negative? How does looking in that direction make you feel? It’s that glass half empty or full thing.

Many are telling me their lives have forever changed due to the 2 months they have spent quarantined. That job they thought they couldn’t leave or live without, they have learned they can live without it and they are even enjoying their lives without it.  Sitting still has taught them how much anxiety all of the distractions they had in their lives has brought. They have decided there will be many things they leave off when life returns to normal, whatever the new normal looks like. Many are using this as an opportunity to redesign their lives and be better versions of themselves.

One friend gave up sugar when this all began. I saw her and was amazed that just that small change made her happier and 22 pounds lighter. She reports sleeping better and feeling less anxious. She decided at the beginning of sheltering in place that she would use the time in a positive way and it really has shifted her life into a better zone. It’s amazing how we get to choose what we do with our time and those choices often define the direction life takes.

If you are ready to build resilience and start unloading obstacles and you don’t know where to begin, begin with small steps. Drop the sugar, sleep better or begin walking 30 minutes a day. Any of these changes will add quality to your life and improve your resilience which we are all beginning to realize now is big. We are all learning we are tougher than we realized and we can do hard things.

This is hard. Different levels of difficulty for us all. It’s doubtful any of us have escaped unscathed in some way. We are a courageous world and our courage connects us. Courage looks very different for us all. We are gathering in the ways that are possible and sharing our tips for overcoming boredom, pain, fear and uncertainty. We are changing in ways that will last forever. Our world will never be the same. We will never be the same. We have and are staring hardships in the face and pushing them aside to find resilience. That thing we didn’t realize we had but now we know and once you know, it changes your life forever.