Monday, February 16, 2009

Rx -A Dose of Fotitutude & Resiliency

RESILIENT: (adjective): 1. springing back; rebounding 2. returning to the original form or position after being bent, compressed, or stretched; 3. recovering readily from illness, anxiety, depression, adversity or the like; buoyant.


Have you started hearing this word lately? People are gathering around tables, TV's, and social networks trying to figure out if the rubber band will stop stretching or...break. In the meantime...
  • "We just need to make sure our organization is ...resilient."
  • "If Pat doesn't learn how to be resilient, he's never going to make it."
  • "The leaders we need now, are those who can be resilient in this chaos."
True...resiliency is a great trait. But most people don't understand what it takes to be resilient. Telling someone to be resilient during a time of chaos and stress can be like telling a depressed person to just...be happy. The road to getting there isn't like taking a pill. It takes stamina and a discipline.

I was reading something the other day, and came across the word 'fortitude'.

FORTITUDE (noun), means mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation courageously :Never once did her fortitude waiver during that long illness



In what has become known as the Nun Study (http://www.apa.org/journals/features/psp805804.pdf), 120 Catholic Nuns were observed from age 22 to death. Basically, those who practiced a positive state of mind, out-lived the negative mindsets 2.5 to 1.

Both sets of nuns were resilient in their lifetime. However, the nuns with increasingly negative attitudes, developed dementia earlier on in life, leading to an earlier death in the end

At work, in church, across the neighbor's fence...you can see when people make it through a situation, tainted by their circumstance. They do what it takes to succeed...but mentally they are exhausted, jaded, and dissatisfied. Left unchecked, this leads to anger, depression, and a feeling of victimization.

Fortitude is the Richard Simmons workout to help you keep the heavy weight of the world, off your mind. Fortitude is not living in a dreamy, idealistic fantasy land. It means facing reality - and choosing a frame of mind that supports your mental health.

The Rx
Tune-in to what you say about your daily life, and see if your thinking is in your best interest or, if you are living emotionally, using circumstances to justify your positions.

1) Get clear about what you are saying in your head -what is the theme? Is it serving for or against your best self?
  • "I just can't seem to find the time", "I'm in a funk", "this sucks" -

2) Decide what is real, and what is a made-up story - what are you acting like you believe? It is real...really? Are you believing in something that might not be true?

  • "I am not organized", "I'm not good enough", "I should be better, more, different"

3) Make a decision to be supportive to yourself - what do you need to confirm about yourself to shift your mental attitude?

  • "I can do this", "I did my best - I'm simply learning", "I am good at what I do", "I don't have to be perfect"

If you are running around in circles, trying to figure out how to be resilient these days, take a break to build your mental immunity. Set aside 2 times each day, and run yourself through a mental check-up. Drop the mental baggage. And let the good stuff rise to the top.



2 comments:

Irene said...

Good stuff! What you say us so true. In fact, scientific studies have proven that with each new learning experience our brain creates a new pathway. Each behavior catalyzes the next like behavior. I was watching the news the other day and a guest speaker suggested that we can actually change the way we feel by the way we behave. Our feelings will "catch up" to our behavior. Indeed a dose of fortitude & resiliency is can catalyze positive change! It's a choice!

klp28 said...

Can you share with us the name of the show? I'd love to post the YouTube video if possible.