Resilience is my superpower. It is the one thing that when all else fails that I can fall back on. Its like if you have ever done a trust fall; you fall back and there someone is to catch you. That someone for me is resilience.
Being resilient means being elastic. Its toughness. I bend but I do not break. My grandmother use to say: “Take a licking and keep on ticking”. Its emotional strength, conviction. Its grit. It is a decided belief that you cannot and will not fail.
You need to be resilient because one of the inevitabilities of life is coming up against opposition. You will have challenges. As long as you are alive something somewhere that is unfavorable will rear its ugly head. What are you going to do when your problems come for you?
It is important that I talk about this because while I focus on being healthy and having the right mindset primarily, life can sometimes be unforgiving. What do you do when things are not going in your direction? Despite your best efforts it seems as if God is conspiring against you.
Welcome to the story of my life.
One of my biggest pitfalls is that I am incredibly competitive. This is not really a problem for me as much as it can be an issue for those I am around. However, having a competitive mindset is how I have been able to get where I am in life today. I have had no other option but to be resilient.
I will be the first to tell you that I was not dealt the best hand in life. A lot of people are not; but the difference is, I refused to fold. Failure is not a permanent condition; and I refuse to give away my labeling power.
The Bible says that the first job God gave Adam was to name all the animals. You have the power to dictate to/label things in your life. Who do you call you? What do you label yourself as? I have never found it comforting identifying as a failure.
Resilience is having passion and perseverance. I am passionate about success and am willing to persevere for it. Typically, people have passion, but they do not have the perseverance. Passion is what gets you started, but perseverance is what keeps you going.
You must learn to be able to endure. This comes from having resolve. Anyone who does not stand for anything will fall for everything. Where is your proverbial line in the sand? What is the thing that you are unwilling to capitulate on?
In an anime called Naruto they call it their ‘ninja way’.
It is the reason why they do what they do. Who you are is more important than what you do however; what you do should be informed by who you are.
Does who you are dictate to what you are doing? Resilient people label their circumstances – not allowing themselves to be labeled by them. This is called having a growth mindset. I may have failed at something, but I myself am not a failure.
Do you believe that about yourself? What do you do in the face of opposition? How can you become more resilient?
The truth is, these are things that we have to develop as individuals. What has worked for me may not work for you; The verdict is till out on a uniform way to build up resolve. One thing I will say is this, you must at the very least, hold yourself in high regard.
Are you accountable, and do you have follow through power? My credo is that I am a man of my word. I say what I mean and mean what I say. That is what drives me to persevere. One sure way to build resilience in yourself is to commit to yourself.
You are a spiritual being having a physical experience meaning, you are not tethered to your reality. What you see is not all that is. That is why the most important person that can speak life into your situation is you. Only you can make you better.
Ken
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