Resilience

I am happy to say that I am back riding my bike once again . . with a golden helmet placed firmly on my noggin. Cycling servers two purposes for me - exercise and meditation. And no - I wasn't meditating when I hit the parked car. At least. . . . being that I can't remember, I don't think I was meditating.

My stitches are out and I am all healed . . thanks to a lot of Neosporin. Surprisingly, I don't not have much of a noticeable scar . . . . so I'm still another smiling pretty face.

I have been reading some articles about how we recover from the ups and downs of life. So I ask you . . . How resilient are you?

When I look back at my life I have noticed a pattern where my resiliency was slow. I don't know if I was waiting for the other shoe to drop or what. It seems that I would settle into the rut of victimization. That would lead to blaming someone or something for my actions or inactions. I'd mope around, criticize those around me, and primarily become an unpleasant person to be around.

I was suffering from my lack of resilience. Some say that we are either born with the positive trait of resilience or we don't possess it. I believe that we can develop anything that we put our minds to and some experts agree. They tell me that it does take dedication and practice though. We cannot just wish we had more resilience. We have to demonstrate resilience through taking actions that pull us out of our victimization.

The experts tell me that I need to go beyond my comfort zone and challenge myself. Risk builds resilience and it's good practice. When the initial risks demonstrate positive experiences - those experiences become a series of challenges that I can use to bridge my next hurdle.

If you don't have a positive events you can retrieve from your own past - pick up a biography about one of your heroes that you can emulate. A friend of my wrote a book called "Dream It - Do It!". It's full of amazing stories about successful people who chased their dreams against all odds. I highly recommend it.

Another thing that the experts advise is to teach ourselves patience. Rome wasn't built or destroyed in a day. The same thing goes for fixing problems that we have buried for years. Resilience requires being more strategic and less impulsive. We need to give ourselves time before reacting to inflammatory situations - as we might have done in the past. But patience is by no means an excuse to take no action.

Today I took some actions about fixing a problem that has been staring me in the face for years. The phone becomes real heavy when I have to walk to something that I have avoided, denied and basically ran away from for years. I don't know why I do this - but no more. I vow not to live that way any longer.

The last six months have been a struggle for me. I have had to walk through challenges that I did not want to walk through. I now realize that I have reached the end of my rope in these areas. I now have the courage to face them and put an end to my lack of resilience.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

Is there anything that you have been avoiding and living the life of a victim? Challenge yourself to practice resilience everyday. You will be amazed how good it makes you feel.

Your Life - Your Rules!
Namaste Speedo