“Life is 10 percent what happens to you, and ninety percent how you respond to it.”
I love this quote from American football coach, Lou Holtz.
I think his words sum up the essence of resilience. Can this quality be taught? Is there a recipe? What are some of the ingredients for this magic sauce that is the key to bouncing back when life throws a wrench at us?
While some of us are more resilient than others, I think there are a few tools and habits each of us can incorporate into our lives to strive towards more resilience.
Resilience Magic Sauce Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 gallon of community & connection
- Keep a close circle of trusted family and friends around you. Confide in them early and often. We are stronger together than we are alone.
- 3 hefty cups of gratitude
- This can be hard when we’re feeling negative but try your best to remember 3 things for which you are grateful, and if need be, force yourself to smile as you do so! It can be as simple as being grateful for the sun, moon, and Mother Nature!
- 2 cups of confidence
- Avoid comparing yourself to others. Paraphrasing the great Fred Rogers, there is only one you. You are very special just the way you are.
- 1 tablespoon mindfulness and attention
- Pay attention to your emotions and realize when you are feeling overwhelmed or dejected. Reach out for help, accept that sometimes, stress happens, and don’t blame yourself.
- 1 teaspoon persevering spirit
- Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Robert Frost once said, “In three words, I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.” And since that’s indeed the case, let’s use the tools of resilience to put one foot in front of the other, taking steps each day to harness our inner strengths.
