Resilience Today for a Better Tomorrow

We prepare for college, career, marriage, parenting, vacations, and retirement, but we don’t prepare for those uphill seasons.

When challenges come, we struggle to find hope and remain resilient.

 

Can Anyone Become Resilient?

People believe resilience is an innate trait, but it’s a developed skill.

This article is a mix of curated research and my journey with resilience. After spending decades reframing my thoughts and learning to use emotions as an illuminating indicator rather than a dominating dictator, I’ve become a personal case study.

You cannot predict whether someone will be resilient in the same manner you can’t predict if someone will be healthy. Resilience is something you realize in retrospect, but if you can choose a healthy lifestyle, you can choose resilience.

Changing eating and sedentary patterns can be difficult, and changing the thoughts that erode your resilience is just as tricky, but the benefits are well worth the effort.

So how do we get there?

Here are a few observations that will help you begin a lifestyle of resilience.

 

 

1. Prepare for Resilience

What does “Prepare” mean?

It means to make ready!

What we change in ourselves today will make us ready for tomorrow.

Each day brings up-and-down opportunities to practice resilience. We can use those opportunities as a dress rehearsal for tomorrow.

We can learn to:

  • Become vulnerable in situations that we can’t control.
  • Respond with thoughts that align with our values rather than react with our emotions.
  • Cultivate patience and stop sweating the small stuff.
  • Reframe the mental triggers that can erode our resilience.
  • Prepare for the unknown but can commit to adapting and trusting.

 

People want to find life balance, but God often uses our out-of-control experiences to bring us into balance with Him.

We won’t get everything we want in life, but we’ll receive more than we deserve–enough to leave a legacy for future generations.

 

 

2. Circumstances Can Teach Us Resilience

Living with meaning is essential to cultivating resilience, but it’s hard. Some things may seem senseless.

To find meaning, we step back and look at the bigger picture seeking the unseen anchor or the didactic.

This concept was introduced by Austrian Viktor Frankl (psychiatrist), who was in the Auschwitz Nazi concentration and death camp. He’s the author of the book “Man’s Search for Meaning.”

During his horrific experience, he gave life meaning by seeing himself giving lectures once he was set free. This gave his life a reason to endure.

Your today can have meaning for tomorrow. Perhaps it’s writing a book, being an example to your children, or helping others overcome a similar problem.

 

3. Cultivate Resilient Qualities

Resilient people are not in denial. Instead, they have a firm sense of reality. They have a deep belief connected to their values, yet they’re not hopeless optimists.

They don’t see a glass half empty but half full.

We see this often in first responders, medical staff, ministry leaders, and more.

Do you remember the 1985 show MacGyver? He could find a solution to a problem with minimal resources. I remember watching the show and waiting to see how he would use his ingenuity to save the day. MacGyver had a firm belief that his knowledge and skills could save lives.

What would we accomplish tomorrow if we could believe that everything has a solution or valuable lesson to learn?

 

 

4. Manage Resilience

When we manage our minds and choose a healthier perspective, we manage resilience.

Dr. Caroline Leaf (cognitive neuroscientist) explains that the brain and mind are two separate things, yet connected in an extraordinary way.

The mind has the power to change the brain. This suggests incredible hope for tomorrow.

The brain influences our physical and mental health by 75% to 98%. Your mind is how you feel, think, and choose. It’s 99% of who you are as a person. When we change our thoughts, we are on the path toward resilience.

 

 

5. Make Resilience a Default Setting

Build intangible assets such as family, love, and faith.

Experts say,

  • Focus on the things that add fulfillment, and it will decrease anxiety.
  • When we decrease anxiety, it helps us sleep better.
  • When we sleep better, we improve our immune system.

The mind is an incredible gift, and we should guard it. In Proverbs 4:23 it says,

Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

 

We are wonderfully created human beings with the ability to do extraordinary work. We may not be able to control external circumstances, but we can control our thoughts. We can choose a better path for tomorrow. We can become resilient today and become the person God intended—full of peace and hope.

 

Stay resilient!

Marisa Shadrick

Online Marketing Coach and Certified Copywriter