How to kindle resilience

Resilience refers to an individual's ability to adapt and recover from adversity, trauma, or significant stress. It is the capacity to bounce back from difficult experiences and to learn and grow from those experiences. Resilient people are able to cope with challenges and setbacks, maintain a positive outlook, and continue to pursue their goals and dreams despite obstacles.

Resilience can be developed through a combination of internal and external factors, including positive relationships, social support, healthy coping mechanisms, self-care, and personal characteristics such as optimism, perseverance, and a growth mindset.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficult or challenging situations. It is a valuable skill that can help you cope with stress, overcome obstacles, and achieve your goals. Here are some ways to kindle resilience:

1. Practice self-care: Take care of your physical, emotional, and mental health. Get enough sleep, exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, and take breaks when you need them. Engage in activities that make you feel good and help you relax, such as reading a book or taking a bath.
2. Develop a positive mindset: Focus on your strengths and accomplishments, and learn from your mistakes. Cultivate a sense of gratitude and optimism, and remind yourself that you can overcome challenges.
3. Build a support network: Connect with people who can offer you emotional support and practical help. This can include friends, family members, coworkers, or mental health professionals.
4. Learn problem-solving skills: Develop your ability to identify problems and find solutions. Break down complex problems into smaller, manageable tasks, and brainstorm ideas with others.
5. Practice mindfulness: Learn to stay present in the moment and be aware of your thoughts and emotions. This can help you manage stress and anxiety, and improve your ability to cope with challenging situations.
6. Embrace change: Accept that change is a natural part of life, and learn to adapt to new circumstances. Recognize that challenges can be opportunities for growth and learning.

By practicing these strategies, you can kindle resilience and develop the ability to bounce back from adversity. Remember that resilience is not something you are born with, but rather a skill that can be developed and strengthened over time.

Building resilience is an important aspect of mental and emotional well-being, as it helps individuals to navigate the ups and downs of life and to bounce back from setbacks and challenges. It is also an important skill in professional and personal settings, as it helps individuals to manage stress and maintain productivity and focus in the face of adversity.

Submitted by Mindy Albright

The last few years have been challenging at best and scary at the worst. 

My husband and I play in the bell choir at church and I took a picture of our practice this last week because it kind of looked like 2020 all over again:  We have recently had several people in the leadership of the church come down with Covid.  We are doing all that the CDC recommends and so at the point of this rehearsal, everyone was negative after quarantining but we were masking and distancing as a precaution.  6 people were in attendance at this rehearsal, one on one side of the aisle in the back of the church.  The remaining 4 spread out across the other side of the aisle, all masked, all distanced.  One could think – is this progress?  But, in a sense, it is.  No one got really sick with covid (thankfully as we have a small congregation with an average age north of 85 so at higher risk).  We now KNOW what to do to keep ourselves as safe as possible while still doing what we love (which, at this particular moment was playing bells).  We can’t unknow what we know but we can be flexible and adapt.  One week (with all the covid positives in key players) this meant zoom only church service.  But we had done this in 2020 for quite a while so we have the tools and, while NO one thinks this is better than in person, it felt safer this particular week. 

I really have come to hate the term ‘new normal’ but really that is where we are.  Things will not be the same but life is always ever changing.  Change just usually isn’t quite as obvious as it has been in recent years.

Virtual meetings are a good example of adaptation that is useful across the board.  Again, most people will not argue that meeting on Zoom is better than meeting with people face to face but it is a very useful option in situations not limited to global pandemic.  Weather, distance and timeliness are also impediments to always meeting in person.  It’s great that there is an alternative that is now more mainstream than it was pre-pandemic.

It seems an odd truth to me that change is difficult for humans even as change is as inevitable as the earth’s rotation. 

One way we can help ourselves build resilience in the face of this inevitability is to maintain some internal steadiness.  This could mean keeping yourself on a steady personal schedule:  trying to go to bed the same time every night, drinking water throughout the day, eating healthy (or going for an 80/20, or 90/10 rule – eat what you should eat 80-90% of the time and the other 10-20% do the best you can), get exercise – which means moving (get up and take a walk around the building/block every hour or 2). Watch your alcohol or caffeine intake (she says as she sips coffee – know yourself – limit yourself to 1 cup, 1 alcoholic beverage, etc).  Another way to be true to your own wellbeing is to take a beat before you say ‘yes’ to a request on your time or resources.  This is difficult for me as a lifelong people pleaser.  But I feel better in the long run if I think for a second before filling up my calendar. 

Another way to take care of your own wellbeing is to schedule fun stuff for yourself.  I recently was at a meeting where someone was lamenting that they just wanted to take part in an activity where there wasn’t a goal to accomplish – and they wondered what that would be called.  Someone else said ‘fun, it’s called fun!’  You do it because it brings you enjoyment – no other reason.  With that, I’m going off to do something fun.

Submitted by Anne Daws-Lazar