RESILIENCE.
A BLOG ON HUMAN RESILIENCE, STOICISM AND FORTITUDE
The Things We Keep Putting Off
Last weekend, I took a course that I've procrastinated on for... you will never guess... 23 years.
Whoa.
It was easy to procrastinate on for a variety of reasons. A refresher on old training, let’s say.
Let me share the process I just went through with you because it's significant for all of us.
I talk about freeing up energy when it gets stuck in certain areas of your life, then being able to reallocate that energy and direct it where you want it to create forward momentum. This is a present moment example of that.
Adaptability Is Strategic Resilience
There has been a great deal of adapting on the fly these days, so I thought I would bring that up as a topic of discussion.
As you know, things don't always go as planned. Quite often, we need to pivot unexpectedly in a new direction, one we totally didn't anticipate.
But adaptation is not failure, nor is it giving up.
Why Success Feels Uncomfortable (And How to Handle It)
Historically, I have been placing a heavy emphasis on how to get things working in my teachings.
I’ve talked about how to exist in hardship, how to move on from that place, and how to deal with the heavy emotions that come up inside you as these situations impact your life experience.
So, let's talk about how to handle things when they actually start working instead.
Very few people talk about holding success once it arrives, about trusting things (and yourself) when they're going well, and not self-sabotaging the good stuff.
The Resilience Formula: Why You're Stronger Than You Think
Life inevitably happens.
When you’re standing in the middle of extreme hardship, the very centre of the shitstorm, it can feel like you have no hope to reach for. No tools, no comfort, no support.
It’s incredibly lonely.
Rock bottom can and does teach you like no other sensei.
On Courage
No life is free of difficult decisions.
The tough conversations. Holding back reactions. The difficult goodbyes. Walking through the door and having everything come to the surface. Allowing it all to hurt, like a hard breakup. Giving something the time and space it needs to leave your experience.
Healing and letting go is a heartbreaking process.
There is beauty in that raw place.
THE FIRE PHASE: Not Who You Used To Be, Not Yet Who You’re Becoming
There comes a point in every major transformation where you no longer recognize the person you used to be, but you haven't yet become the person you're working toward. It's an unsettling place to stand, but it’s also intensely exciting.
It's your personal blank canvas. What you become next is yours to paint.
Restraint is Power
Something magic happens when you learn to sit with your emotions.
Suddenly you become adept at sitting with your situation as well.
That means not reacting immediately, putting more thought into things, and feeling everything out more.
Not reacting to something when you really want to takes discipline. The discipline of a saint, sometimes. It's a superpower.
So how do we build it?
Comfort Creates Chaos
Have you ever noticed that comfort creates chaos?
Comfort slowly narrows your focus until immediate relief becomes more compelling than long-term purpose.
We rarely wake up one morning feeling completely disconnected from ourselves. Instead, it happens one comfortable decision at a time.
Here's the silent process.
A Leap of Faith
There will come a time when you have to jump a gap.
A chasm between who you are now, and who you’re becoming. A jump so large you can’t say for sure you’ll land on the other side, or if it’s going to be as soft a landing as you wanted when you get there.
But you have to try.
Why You Might Feel A Little Off
Often, staying true to yourself takes a lot more effort than abandoning your truth for the sake of ease.
Comfort is only the illusion of having what you want. It masquerades as success. It lures you into a false sense of complacency.
I talk about this balance a lot; of finding that sweet spot between contentment and truly enjoying where you're at, and pushing yourself, whether that's out of your comfort zone or into physical discomfort. It's important to walk this line.
The Fear of Being Happy
Good things can feel scary and uncomfortable too, you know.
Hope can feel risky because we never know when what we hope for will dissipate, suddenly becoming something else. Sitting in the presence of good circumstances and feelings can be as challenging for some people as sitting with the bad, just in a different way.
Every Step Takes You Somewhere
This is a short and simple reminder: The small steps you take always carry you somewhere. Whether or not that's where you want to be depends on the baby steps you decide to consistently choose. The small things you do everyday often matter more than the big things you do once, even if they seem too insignificant to matter.
Resilience Won’t Always Feel Strong
Being resilient isn't always going to feel very strong.
It means wading through what’s tough, making hard decisions and being vulnerable and honest with yourself about how you're really doing. In other words, you express the most resilience when you feel the least comfortable and resilient.
Resilience: It’s Not About Bouncing Back
Resilience isn’t about bouncing back.
Imagine this; you’re start a romantic relationship at Point A in your life. You bring your whole self to the table, a heart full of love, but after a time of full emotional investment, it doesn’t work out. You both go your separate ways.
When Life Asks You For Change
When life asks you for change—to change where you are, what you’re doing, or how you’re showing up, you have to listen. The growth that’s on its way will show up regardless, in one form or another. As humans, we’re built to create not a perfectly manicured life, but a beautifully imperfect one.
Turn Motivation into Sustainable Change
New Years is a time of change. Of creating better for ourselves, shooting for the stars and enjoying the process.
I have touched on this topic before, but it's worth revisiting to make sure you set yourself up for success in creating sustainable change and growth throughout the year—without breaking integrity with yourself as so many people do.
When You Feel Heavy: Why Stillness Is the Medicine You Need
There are eleven months standing between us and last January. In those months, you may feel like you've lost some steam. Your circumstances may look different than you had expected or hoped them to when first you jumped excitedly into this year. You may feel tired, even a little hopeless, like your mind and body are trying to wind down with the season but your schedule won't let you. Like you should have accomplished more or are running out of time.
From Fear to Flight: A Lesson in Courage
When you make a choice like that, to face something or chase growth, life will meet you in that place to give you exactly what you need: opportunities to face what you're choosing to face. Environments, relationships, circumstances will shift to accommodate your new direction of growth. Life will move heaven and earth, so to speak, to allow you the chance to grow.
The Fiercest Power We Hold
When pain feels unbearable, the answer is still love. When the world around us crumbles into chaos, the answer is still love. When darkness presses in, tempting us to collapse, the answer is still love—because love is more powerful than darkness will ever be.
The Warrior’s Path To Letting Go
It's exceptionally easy to point fingers and say something negative about someone else. But you know what? It's often even easier to look in the mirror and say something negative about ourselves. It's very true that we can be our own worst critic.
However, there are few things in life that will drain your power faster.
TRM© RESILIENCE RANGER
SUPPORT FOR THE UNCERTAIN MOMENTS. BUILT ON THE ART OF BEING HUMAN. DESIGNED FOR REAL LIFE.