We cannot always look at mental wellness through rose tinted glasses and see only Joy, happiness, and positive thinking.
Sometimes the harsh reality of life hits us hard.
There could be moment in our life where none of these could work, we bump into roadblocks in our life, challenges which knock us down mentally or even physically. A setback in career, a disease, a financial crisis or even global events like a pandemic. Today’s world is more dynamic than ever.
Technological disruptions, climate change related disasters and even a global recession.
would we crumple under these pressures or come out stronger?
That depends on our mental grit, our ability to stand up every single time we get knocked down and grow from there. or simply, resilience.
Thankfully to us, resilience is not a gift, given to a selected few, it is something we all can gain and even master.
How do we develop this resilience muscle?
German philosopher Nietzsche famously said, “That which cannot kill me, makes me stronger” That for me is the pinnacle of resilience.
So simple to understand yet so difficult to implement in real life. But sure that is not impossible.
How to make yourself Resilient?
- Knowing that setbacks and failures are part of life; there is always a second chance or another option.
- Know yourself and your strength
- When there is an opportunity to practice resilience grab it; it is like a practice test.
- Practice mindfulness
- Remember the times you faced adversities and how you came out strong. Learn and develop strategies around that.
- Have people around you who can count on during adversities, they are your safety net.
- Finding a purpose, a north star which will help you navigate challenges
An extraordinary story of resilience – David Goggins:
As I write this, I couldn’t help but think of David Goggins.
An abusive father, a gene condition which threatens to even cause death if he overexerts himself. This very same condition got him removed from US air force training. Despite all these, multiple injuries and few attempts later, he got into US SEAL training and became a Navy SEAL. He fought in wars are saw many his fellow men getting killed as a result. He wanted to help the families of these fellow men.
In order to raise money to support war veterans’ families, he started participating in endurance challenges, all with his genetic conditions and minimal resources. His victories include bad water ultra-marathon which is one of the toughest.
If we think about it, only thing which made him endure all these is his resilience. If a human with all these limitations can achieve this much, don’t you think we can handle the life events and turn them into opportunities?
Watch the full video in the below link:
