How to Not Circle the Drain: Keeping it Together in the 21st Century

Building Resilience: Way to Keep On Keepin' On - Part Two

RESILIENCE IN ACTION:  REACH FOR THE STARS!

 Resilience is the capacity to successfully adapt to stress, change, and adversity.  Resilience is a skills set that can be learned and practiced by anyone, and developed by consistent efforts, focus, and attention.  Resilience is a dynamic and evolving process, just like life, and certain skills may be more effective at different times when applied to specific situations and life circumstances. Troubles and stress are a constant in life, whether they come from the environment or our own individual actions. Whatever the origin of the stress or challenge,  it provides an opportunity to implement resiliency skills to "ride the wave" in the most constructive way possible, both for ourselves and for others in our environment.  Each letter of RESILIENT STARS includes test drives and kicks off the discussion of skill options and areas of focus to promote resilience.  Part One included the word RESILIENT: 

Relax

Enjoy

Self-Care

Install the Good

Letting Go

Inspiration

Express Yourself

Nature

Thankfulness

A combination of factors contribute to ongoing resilience.  Experiment with applying your own spin and personal style, mix and match to determine what is effective for you, your age and stage, and current circumstances.  Identify what helps you personally to build resilience, this is by no means an exhaustive list of resiliency factors.  I would be interested in hearing from you what attitudes, behaviors, skills, and philosophies assist you in the process of cultivating and maintaining resilience in a world of constant change and challenges.

Each letter of RESILIENT STARS includes test drives, skill options, and areas of focus and inquiry to build resilience.  Part Two includes the word STARS: 

S:  Simplify

T:  Thought Management

A:  Attention

R:  Relationships

S:  Spirituality

S:  Simplify:  Modern life is complicated.  Get back to basics, whatever that means for you.  Examples of cultivating a simpler life include slowing down your pace and intentionally  not rushing or hurrying through life.  Allow yourself to rest and recharge from work and activities.  Do one thing at a time.  Practice patience and being -  instead of always doing.  Slow down and take some deep breaths several times a day.  Make time and space in your life for what is important to you.  Get rid of excess stuff, focus less on material things, consider your values and what activities and people in your life are value-creating and those that are energy and spirit drains.  Edit your life when possible.   Say no to an over-scheduled life when the opportunity arises.  Sometimes it may be appropriate to respectfully refuse requests, and “just say no.” 

T:  Thought Management:  Become a responsible steward of your thought process.  Observe your thoughts and question their validity.  You are not your thoughts, you are a witness and an observer of them. All of your thoughts are not true!  Reframe and redirect thoughts that are unproductive and implement skills such as distraction and relaxation exercises to address cycles of worry and excessive rumination.  Have a gentle attitude and a spirit of curiosity towards the process.  When indicated, put space between your thoughts and their expression, delay communication when angry, let ideas marinate before responding with automatic, knee-jerk responses that do not serve you or others.