The pandemic has caused a cycle of global stress that seems to go on forever. How can we live our best lives in these circumstances? How do we safeguard our mental and physical wellbeing and also thrive? I believe the key is to build resilience.
Resilience is the capacity to recover from the challenges we face in life. Resilience is not only that you get back on your feet, but also how fast you do so.
We can’t always control our circumstances or most daily events or shield ourselves from distressing situations. The health issues we may face undoubtedly contribute to this. We can, however, cultivate our own sense of mental toughness in how we recover. We can also prepare ourselves through mind, body, and spiritual practices for inevitable challenges.
How, then, do we build resilience?
On a physical level, we pay more attention to nutrition, sleep, exercise, and other wellness habits. Are we building muscles, staying active, and taking care of our bodies so we can survive illness or injury and bounce back quickly?
When it comes to our mental wellbeing, are we keeping our minds filled with positive, inspiring, creative, and stimulating sources of input, rather than dwelling on negative news media? Feeding our minds with hope and optimism helps us to discern the truth amidst barrages of information. Cultivating a positive, resilient mindset helps us recover more quickly when we experience unwelcome news, fear, grief, loss, and disappointment.
On a spiritual level, resiliency means having a strong core foundation of faith. Any faith, denomination, or belief system will do, as long as you are consistently building that core and flexing your spiritual muscles in preparation for tough situations. Having a firm foundation of faith encourages resilience in every other facet of life.
When we build resilience in our mind, body, and spirit, we are much better prepared to take on whatever sucker punch comes our way so we can protect our mental and physical wellbeing. You will find you not only snap back, but bounce back even better than before!
