Building Resilience: professional tips and guidance (7/2024)

Hello and welcome (back) to my blog, dear friends!

Today im back with another calendar, as important as the 1st one I published earlier this month. And you may think it comes late in the month, but no one stops you to recuperate by implementing 2 activities per day ;). This one promotes the idea of building resilience, even in challenging times. Resilience is a key-resource we should all try to build, and starting as early as possible. Because resilience is what stops us from giving up when faced with uncertainty and/or difficulty.

And here are some tips to build your resilience levels:

• 1. Always \”Hunt the Good\” – look for the goodness around you: in people, in nature, in the news, in local events, everywhere

• 2. Always look for the \”silver lining\”

Even in tough times there can sometimes be a silver lining. Actually some say that there is ALWAYS a silver lining in every bad event. Based on my own experience, I tend to agree with the latter – there is always something good in every bad event.

Since December 2020 I went through 3 traumas in my family : the 1st one was a \”life and death\” event – I\’ve almost lost my father to Covid – and the latest 2 were caused by one of the most bitter and sobering realisations anyone could have about their family of origin. After the 1st event it took me 2 years to recuperate (it might have taken less if I knew then what I know now :D) and after the last 2 im still recuperating because they only happened in March.

Thinking back of the experience from the 1st event, I learned that, even though in the thick of it you might feel no hope, in the end you will probably discover that there is always something positive in every bad event, no matter how small that positive aspect is. It will take time to realise what that positive aspect is – of course. But we can usually be sure to be stronger once we reach the other end.

A trap we easily fall into is to keep looking in the past – what happened, why it happened, why did it happen to me and so on. And we can stay in this trap for weeks and maybe even months on end. It\’s totally understandable. I know I did after the latest 2 events. This is not beneficial for us. And I can give at least 3 big reasons:

1. ruminating about the past can lead to depression which will have

2. a negative impact on your health and

3. our looking at the past basically blocks our access to the future. It\’s like driving and looking in the rear-view mirror. If you look at it for too long, you miss what happens in front of you, and then accidents can happen.

And the last resilience-building tip is:

• 3. Focus on your breath

Pay attention to your breath whenever you need a calm pause before or after an important/stressful meeting/event.

We\’ve all seen thriller movies and the scene when the ambulance comes to help the victims/witnesses. First thing the paramedics always ask them to do is to breath deeply and slowly. Focussing on our breath activates our parasympathetic nervous system, the one that helps us to calm down.

And a very helpful tip is to prolonge the exhale phase: if you breath in for 3 seconds, then breath out for 4 or 5 seconds. Or try the 4-7-8 sequence: inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds. If you do this long enough at some point you will find yourself yawning ;).

I hope this post is really helpful to you.

Except for this, as a certified positive psychology coach, I am here to guide you on the path of understanding and applying your values and strengths for a balanced life, filled with more enthusiasm.

Hoping I brought a bit more excitement about your intentions, im looking forward to meeting you, so you can discover that you have ALL the resources to live the life YOU want.

Remember, 2024 will be (y)our BEST year yet ;)!

Until next time, stay positive and take care of yourselves!