The Gift Called Resilience

Not everyone has the ability to recover or to “bounce back,” as some would say, after stressful events. Not everyone can smile or even laugh while enduring tension.  Not everyone can reach for inner strength to continue living a productive life. No situation under the sun is unique to just one person, so what makes one person keep going, while another loses steam? It is called resilience. In my life, I have found during stress, time can either drag or fly by.  When time passed quickly, I did not process what I had actually endured until after the fact. We should give ourselves credit for getting through what has not been easy. In the midst of stress, it is hard to wrap your head around what it really going on. I supposed it is because we are too busy trying to figure out why the mess (another 4 letter word comes to mind, but I’ll be civil) is unfolding. Writing a book is on my list of “things to do.”  I’ve always enjoyed writing since I was a little princess.  I’ve never known exactly what type of book to write and I don’t know where the desire came from.  But as far back as I can remember the desire has always been there.  Well thanks to some stress, I believe I now have some material to write about (whew, wiping my brow!).  People see the carefree and successful you, but they didn’t see the stressful you. To others, you make things look real easy and glamorous!  Do pat yourself on the back for not throwing away your plans, for still opening that business, for still obtaining that degree, for keeping your relationship together, for owning that promotion!  Maybe a pat on the back is not enough for you, maybe you feel like you need to do a back flip!  Just give yourself credit for the spirit you still have, even if no one else does.