Get up one more time.
“2007 was the worst year of my life.” I hear people say. It seems that few, if any people want to come back from holiday and resume work. Most are afraid to loose the sense of peace, balance and goodwill that a period of rest brings. “It’s so hard to be back” is the refrain on every ones lips.
Wherever I turn, I seem to hear stories and events describing how people have been subjected to crime, stress, turmoil, heart ache and despair. We all without exception, at times will find ourselves being victims of crime, struggling to make ends meet in business, and or enduring a relationship breakup. What can we do to remain resilient? My definition of resilience is simply: ”The ability to get up one more time that you have fallen down”
In order to become, or remain resilient you need to learn to do the following:
Firstly, you need to inform yourself with regards to what is happening. You need to do your homework, gather information, look for patterns, and determine cause and effect. Being informed allows you to understand the context, to get a more accurate perception of what is happening around you, to you, and therefore what you can do about it.
Secondly, you need to extrapolate what meaning the situation holds for you.
What does this mean to me? How does it affect me? How does this impact how I see my world? How do I believe it should be? And, how does this compare to what is happening?
CORE is an acronym for resilient oriented action.
The C is for Control. Become accountable, take action and control what you are able to.
The O is for Ownership. Take responsibility, influence what is yours to own.
The R is for Reach. Limit the reach of the negative occurrences in your life. Keep them in perspective, box them in your mind if necessary, just don’t let a few bad things bleed into the rest of your life.
The E is for Endurance. Here are a few ways to enhance your endurance. Revise your beliefs for current applicability.
What we believe drives both our behavior and our emotions.Beliefs are simply concepts, information and prejudices which we form and gather, as we travel the road of life.
Our environment is not stagnant. It changes continuously, yet for most of us our beliefs remain stagnant. It is critical that we learn to review our beliefs for their current applicability and relevance to a current life situation.
Where would South Africa be, if Apartheid as a belief system still prevailed?
Changing our beliefs is uncomfortable and scary, yet it is possible, with courage, hope and conviction on our side.
Listen to the messenger of your emotions. Your emotions are a true source of universal intelligence. They tell you what you want and need. Learn to listen to them, access them, and use them to guide you to constructive and appropriate life action for yourself.
Then of course back to those basics which underlie all of our lives. Learn to take care of yourself physically. Whether you enjoy a massage, your hobbies or a night out with friends, don’t neglect these. Fun and laughter, and good companionship are the stuffing of life.
Remember to balance your nutritional requirements, learn about vitamins, minerals and food supplements. Something as simple as taking Vitamin B, during times of stress, can make an immense difference to your ability to cope with life. At all times do some form of exercise which is suited to your bodily needs and individual personality Whether you go to the gym, walk, run, cycle, swim, do yoga or pilates. You need to keep that body moving.
You are one of a kind. Put together a package for yourself, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually that you can choose to live by.
Do your best to resist the alternative aptly described by the adage:
“When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping, drinking gambling, etc.
Rather subscribe to the school of thought which states: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” No one out there is going to do it for you.
So go ahead, get started and do it for yourself.
Dr Renate Volpe is the CEO of the HIRS Women’s leadership development consultancy.Become an individual or corporate member of the HIRS community and receive great discounts to their events, programs and products. Call Margareth at 011 455 0769, or e mail Renate at Renate@hirs.co.za. For more information peruse www.hirs.co.za .l
