“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
-Albert Einstein, Swiss-German, theoretical physicist, philosopher and author, 1987-1936
With today’s economic downfall, competition, loss of jobs, sudden health issues, breakups, divorce, war victims, loss etc., Resilience is the most important tool and skill to enable you cope with these situations with dignity, integrity and hope.
What is Resilience? According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Resilience is defined as” the POSITIVE capacity of people to cope with stress and catastrophes”. When people encounter difficult situations, some explain it as, "Things happen for a reason" while others say, "it just happened by coincidence". It is vital to cope with challenging situations no matter which school of thought you adopt.
My experiences demonstrated two directions through the road of Resilience. It is up to you to choose your direction. First direction, YOU AND ONLY YOU take over any challenging situation and be in command. Be the pilot of your plane and the captain of your ship. It is always a matter of choice- YOUR OWN CHOICE. The second direction is to give up, allow the challenging situation to take over your life, and thus become an emotional bouncing ball. Take the former and be the winner.
As a free spirited individual you have the option to choose. Your mind is so powerful, and at times, it plays tricks on you. You have to be very aware of what is happening and be able to understand how your mind functions. So many times your mind does the sabotaging, and you become the victim of your mind; allow defeat to conquer.
Daily you encounter challenging situations. The range of these situations differs according to your perception. Some are within your control and some are not. Still they are all challenges to be handled and won. Do you want to become the victim of these situations, be wretched , blame others, stand still, depend on drugs, alcohol, or do you want to be in command, resilient, in control of your life and move forward to reach your goals? When you are resilient you stand tall against all odds, bounce back quickly and turn your challenges into positive opportunities.
Next week, I will explain how I coach my clients to build Resilience.
By: Randa Mufarrij
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