Resilience
Happy first day of 2021!
If you’re anything like me, you woke up relieved to see that it wasn’t December 32, 2020. It felt like the year that would never end, didn't it? We’ve all had to make changes and sacrifices and find new ways to persevere or, in some cases, simply survive, so while it’s just a number, 2021 feels promising.
My 2020 was filled with my own personal struggles: contracting Covid-19 early on before doctors really knew much about how the illness affects different people or even how to treat it. While my case was considered mild and I thankfully didn’t end up in the hospital, the disease set me back six weeks and left chronic fatigue and headaches in its wake. Combine that with loss of wages and schools shutting down and this single mama felt overcome with worry and anxiety.
Will I be able to pay mortgage next month? How am I supposed to homeschool a six-year-old and work at the same time? When will things go back to normal?
Photo Credit: A-Fragile-Smile (Deviant Art)
That was eight months ago for me and things still don’t look normal, do they, friends?! But last night, as I sat quietly reflecting on 2020, I realized that if I had learned nothing else from the difficult year, one thing I did grasp was my own resilience. Despite the many setbacks, I managed to accomplish so much: I edited a new author’s memoir; I co-wrote and published a fictional story; I organized the opening of a new outdoor micro-school so my son wouldn’t have to learn on a computer; I fought hard in the political realm via my work with ArtProfiler; I rediscovered my passion for working with herbs and essential oils; I advanced three belt levels in Seido Karate (training on Zoom); I renovated my back yard into an oasis filled with plants, flowers and homegrown food; I maintained friendships and discovered new ones; I let go of dreams and envisioned bolder ones.
That all sounds super positive and flowery with unicorns and rainbows, and I am really proud of all that I accomplished, but it didn’t feel easy in the moment. In fact, much of the time, getting anything done felt like a major hurdle that took 10 times the energy it normally would. And that is because of the pains that often accompany growth.
Resilience is…
the ability to overcome adversity and turn challenging experiences into positive outcomes — opportunities to learn, grow, develop and thrive.
— Gemma Leigh Roberts
According to author and psychologist Gemma Leigh Roberts, resilience is unique to each person, and what is needed to grow resilience is different for everyone. In her article Resilience: how we can harness what 2020 has given us, Roberts says that there are six pillars of resilience: confidence, adaptability, positivity, perspective, mastery and stamina. She also says that resilience acts on a sliding scale depending on the specific situation(s) and that to improve our own resilience, we must first understand where we have room to grow.
I think this concept is an important one to focus on as we navigate an uncertain future. Sure, 2020 is behind us, but the pandemic is not and it will likely continue to throw unprecedented challenges our way. We all have the opportunity to enhance our own resilience. So how do we harness it to catch, dodge, pre-empt the curve balls that are likely coming at us? What will we learn about ourselves? In what ways will we become even stronger? What doors will be opened for us? I don’t know yet, but I’m really looking forward to what 2021 has in store!
I would love to hear from you about your own lessons in resilience or what valuable lessons or opportunities for growth 2020 has given you. Please email me and tell me your story.