Harnessing Your Resilience in times of Uncertainty
Apr 28, 2020
In these challenging times, it's important to understand ways in which we can harness our resilience to minimise the anxiety which often comes hand-in-hand with change, uncertainty and risk. By being able to navigate the unknown and potential losses in our lives, we are in better shape to look after ourselves, and therefore able to support others to do the same.
This doesn't mean we have to have 'it all together' or 'put a lid' on our emotions to assist others, but the small or big steps we take to harness our inner resilience can become powerful habits which continue to support living our best life in both the joyful, peaceful and the most disruptive of times.
So what are some of the keys to building our personal inner resilience and resourcefulness? Below are some simple, yet powerful ideas:
Connection is key. We are wired as humans to connect with one another. While many of us are finding we have more time to ourselves, it's a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old acquaintances or finding unique ways to stay in touch with people you would, in normal circumstances, see on a regular basis. And make new connections too.
A simple message, like “How are you?”, may create a positive ripple effect when we are reaching out and sharing our experiences. This in turn can work to reduce both our own feeling of loneliness and anxiety, as well as support and connect with our friends and family who may be feeling the same.
Use your time in a way which supports you: emotionally and physically. While it's important to stay connected, social media may provoke pressures of productivity. We are now being flooded with messages such as, ‘learn a new skill!’, ‘tidy your house!’. A general message of: ‘use this time wisely to do all the things we usually don’t have time to do’. However, this is a new situation to everyone and there is no ‘right way’ to navigate through and use this time.
The key is following your own intuition, emotions and heart as to what feels right for ourselves and how and where we spend our time. By being aware of what we are choosing to focus on, which creates our emotions, and this then influences our decision-making can support our control of self - and this is the only thing we can truly control in our lives. And if we are aware of our ability to choose our experiences, we can decide what to focus on and where our energy flows to create the outcomes we want for ourselves.
This doesn't mean we have to have 'it all together' or 'put a lid' on our emotions to assist others, but the small or big steps we take to harness our inner resilience can become powerful habits which continue to support living our best life in both the joyful, peaceful and the most disruptive of times.
So what are some of the keys to building our personal inner resilience and resourcefulness? Below are some simple, yet powerful ideas:
Connection is key. We are wired as humans to connect with one another. While many of us are finding we have more time to ourselves, it's a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old acquaintances or finding unique ways to stay in touch with people you would, in normal circumstances, see on a regular basis. And make new connections too.
A simple message, like “How are you?”, may create a positive ripple effect when we are reaching out and sharing our experiences. This in turn can work to reduce both our own feeling of loneliness and anxiety, as well as support and connect with our friends and family who may be feeling the same.
Use your time in a way which supports you: emotionally and physically. While it's important to stay connected, social media may provoke pressures of productivity. We are now being flooded with messages such as, ‘learn a new skill!’, ‘tidy your house!’. A general message of: ‘use this time wisely to do all the things we usually don’t have time to do’. However, this is a new situation to everyone and there is no ‘right way’ to navigate through and use this time.
The key is following your own intuition, emotions and heart as to what feels right for ourselves and how and where we spend our time. By being aware of what we are choosing to focus on, which creates our emotions, and this then influences our decision-making can support our control of self - and this is the only thing we can truly control in our lives. And if we are aware of our ability to choose our experiences, we can decide what to focus on and where our energy flows to create the outcomes we want for ourselves.
Changing perspectives and focusing on what we appreciate harnesses our inner strength through these uncharted waters. Rather than having ‘Foveal Vision’ where we focus on one thing only, which in this case may be the worry which comes with the pandemic, if we explore what is possible and outside of what is creating the anxiety - for example focusing on hope instead - we can create better outcomes for ourselves. And potentially others as well.
Spending a lot of time listening to the news focusing on the negative stories can do more harm than good by feeding ourselves information which perpetuates a state of negativity in ourselves and increases the levels of cortisol - the stress hormone - in our bodies and hampers our ability to step into resiliency. And this can have an impact on our ability to be compassionate, kind, generous and so many more positive attributes.
Of course we must not be naive to situations; understanding facts are important to ensure we are doing what we can to support our own area of influence in our lives, such as our dependents and the environment we are in. We can stay informed sensibly by watching the news, let's say, once a day while focusing on purposeful and important other aspects of our lives and cultivating healthy perspectives.
And if we choose to identify a viewpoint where we name what we are truly grateful for, it can release good feeling hormones in our body, which can have the impact of opening up our hearts and the wise part of our mind. And this supports our inner resilience and ability to think more mindfully, calmly, creatively and resourcefully.
Stop and breathe. If you find yourself entering a state of anxiety because of the overbearing sense of uncertainty across the world: Stop! Recognise these emotions in yourself and notice how they may be affecting you. Focus on your breathing, ensuring you take deeper breaths to get oxygen into the bloodstream which supports clarity of thought. Remind yourself right now, you are safe. And those who have the virus and/or any other illness are currently in the best hands being looked after and vigilantly cared for by our incredible health workers.
Use this time to support yourself in whichever way you feel works best for you. Understand for the first time, everyone in the world is facing this virus at the same time.There is a new sense of global community, and so many people are being selfless and kind in their efforts in their own unique ways.
Stay connected, stay positive, stay safe.
Be empowered.
Jeanine and Marie Share how we can build our resilience and heart coherence to create new perspectives and better emotional experiences and outcomes in these challenging times with the Corona-virus outbreak Empower World Coaching and Leadership Podcast, Episode 142 here
Episode-142 can be found here:
Direct Link: https://bit.ly/2wAzkjA
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#itunes: http://bit.ly/EW-
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