Blog Archive

Friday, November 13, 2015

Bloom Where You are Planted


This rings so true for me. There were times I was so depressed, I felt as if I was sinking in quicksand and I couldn't find any foothold with which to boost myself upward. I felt buried, but not only buried, but that pernicious roots and vines had engulfed me, wrapping around my whole body to keep me in my underground tomb.
In hindsight, I realize it as the refiner's fire taking me to a place I needed to be to realize I didn't want to be there anymore.
Now I am planted in a home 2,000 miles away from where I started, and blooming beautifully.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

RESILIENCE and CONTROL


I took a great training at work yesterday. The graphic and list are from that training through Intermountain Healthcare.

The question asked was Are You Resilient?
A resilient person will go with the flow, see that she can't change the current situation, so adapts to do whatever is necessary to keep on keeping on.

For instance, if your toddler gets into your just-folded clothes in the laundry basket and strews them all over the room, you can become angry and scold and fly off the handle, resulting in resentment and confusion on your child's part; or you can look over the situation, see the big picture, and realize your toddler thought he was having fun and you might like to play, too. 

As you can see in the graphic below, there are things that are in your control, things you can influence, and things that are out of your control. You can control your attitude. You can influence a wayward child, but you can't control the way another person behaves. 



Now that I'm divorced, I've realized just how resilient I've become. My stress level has gone way down to point where I don't need any anti-depressants,or drugs to help me sleep. I was so afraid of leaving my abusive situation, but as I look back, I wish I would have had the courage to leave when I first had the feeling my marriage wasn't right. Instead, I waited thirty years.

I can't control the past. I can only enjoy the here and now.  I so want that for all of you who might be going through an abusive situation. Please recognize your worth.

The list below outlines a great way to take some small steps to overcome your need for control and find the Calgon moments in your life.

Make lemonade!

How can you increase your resilience?

Here are some small step experiments:
1. Do a self-evaluation. What are you doing that helps you be resilient? Where could you improve?
2. Journal for a day what stresses arise where you have no control. Track what you choose to do in those situations.
3. When you are feeling stressed, ask yourself three questions:
a. Am I stressed about something I don’t control?
b. How do I want to respond to this?
c. What can I do to influence this situation?
d. What can I control in this situation? (it may be just my attitude)
4. Take some time to write your mission statement. Identify what is most important to you and where you find comfort in difficult times. What gives you roots? What are you most committed to do in this life? Put it in a frame and post it where you see it everyday.
5. Make a list with two columns. On the left hand side, write down the most challenging situations you have experienced thus far in your life. In the right hand column, identify what growth you discovered because of that challenge. (How long did it take to make the discovery?)
• Does this remind you that you can do hard things?
• Did the characteristics of control, commitment or challenge affect your ability to bounce higher?
• In retrospect, what else helped you bounce higher with that experience?
6. Make a list of current concerns that you have, but of which you have no direct control. Examples may include: my job is changing; my child married someone I don’t like. Write down what you want your response to be in these situations.
• I’m going to understand how my job is changing by attending meetings and reading about the changes. I’m going to see this as a great challenge to increase my skills.
• I’m going to get to know my son-in-law better and identify his strengths.
7. Identify the most common times when you feel out of control. Is there a skill that would give you more control in these situations? For example, learning to say “no” gives you more control over your time and your energy. Learning how to reflectively listen with your teenager may increase your influence. How can you learn and practice this skill?
8. The next time you are feeling like a victim in a situation, ask yourself these three questions:
a. Am I pretending not to notice my role in this situation? (when you’re feeling like you’re a victim, not an actor)
b. Why would a reasonable, rational and decent person do this? (when you are making a person a villain)
c. What is the right thing to do right now to move toward what I really want? (when you are feeling hopeless)
9. Practice living in the now.

10. Find a role model of resilience.

RESILIENCE
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