Resilience is my word of the moment - according to the Oxford Dictionary:
the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness
the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity (I believe this applies to people)
Why is she focusing on resilience you might ask? The year started with a bunch of curveballs for me. Good people lost and at least three of them so far to cancer - and my favourite teacher from High School passed away. Just add a pinch of Omicron surge, and one war in Europe not far from the in-laws, for a cocktail of - OMG!!! The positive I was looking forward to next month was cancelled - my friend really needed to postpone her wedding because loved ones can't come to NZ (and no, my mate isn't Jacinda đ). How to cope with the crush of emotion? So being the nerdy googler I am, I did a little research on how you can build, you guessed it, 'resilience'.
One of the most useful tips I found was to accept that change is part of living. When circumstances are beyond your control, try and stay positive. It is OK for me to grieve, but one of the best things I can do for myself is to connect with other people.
Connecting with friends, family, community and being helpful is a good way to build your resilience.
Have some goals. They can be small, something you know you can achieve today, whether it's a walk, a simple task or something that will make you feel good.
Maintain a hopeful outlook - wars come to an end, pandemics run their course, how lucky I am to have memories of such wonderful people in my life to recall whenever I wish.
Take care of yourself. Eat well, drink plenty of water, exercise, try and get good sleep, meditate, incorporate activities that make you feel good etc. There were many other tips and strategies I found in my research so have a look, ask other people what works for them and find what suits you.
The reason I wanted to share this on my blog, is that I am aware there are a lot of people coping with situations they haven't experienced before, often in a stressful environment.
Don't despair, because things can and will get better - I recommend Things Can Only Get Better by D.REAM - play it loud!đ
