“You may have a fresh start at any moment you choose, for this thing that we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down.”  Mary Pickford

Resilience def:  the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress.

Tired of this “new normal” we’ve been optimistically calling a recession?  Three years is a long time to be subject to the compressive stress of clients not spending, prospects who are price shopping everything, our once strong value propositions being commoditized, banks not lending and companies not hiring. 

Know this.  You were born with Resilience.  You were born with the ability to bounce back.  From anything.  To anything.  This moment brings you everything that you need.  It is all here.  Now. 

This doesn’t mean it will be easy.  It doesn’t mean that it’s without stresses of its own.  It requires a leap of faith.  It requires being able to let go of old beliefs and old habits and old familiar places and yes, even old familiar faces. 

Believe in your dreams and create your new path.  What is it that you are passionate about.  Do it.  Live it.  Open yourself to life. 

When we are inspired by others who overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, it is easy to not identify that resilience in ourselves.  If we do find it in ourselves, it is easy to attribute it to faith, to grace, to God.  Psychologists have identified several factors that seem to contribute to a person’s ability to bounce back from major life stresses and be stronger than before.

▪Avoiding identification with the sad story
▪Seeking help
▪Holding the belief that there is something one can do to manage your feelings and cope
▪Letting go of negative emotions and experiencing forgiveness
▪Being connected with others, such as family or friends
▪Self-disclosure of the trauma to loved ones
▪Spirituality
▪Having an identity as a survivor as opposed to a victim
▪Helping others
▪Finding positive meaning in the trauma

          Keep moving forward.  Keep reinventing.  Get creative.  With yourself.  And believe.  It is not that you are powerless.  You are powerful beyond belief, so leap forward.

Change. It can be frightening.  Change.  It can be exhilarating.  Change.  It can happen to us.  Change.  We can be the instigator.  We can ignite change or we can be extinguished by change.

This one thing is clear.  Change happens.  Like the current of a river, it flows — sometimes lazily, sometimes rapidly, and sometimes crazily.  We live in times of chaotic change and humans have always done, we must adapt with it.  We must flow with it.

To flow with the changes, we must know where we want the currents to take us.  This requires a vision.  There is a big difference between a vision and a view.  If we allow the currents of change to sweep us along, we will have a view along the way, but we won’t have a vision of where we want to go. 

Creating meaningful change requires that we live consciously and have a clear vision of what we want to experience along the way.  So many of us have experienced the negativity of knowing that what we have is not what we want.  Adding to the frustration is the unawareness of what it is that we want.  A life well lived is a life of intention and life of vision.  Clarify your vision of what you want in this life, in this moment.

Clarify your vision and you become the director of meaningful change in your life.  Take some time with yourself to explore deeply six areas of your life.  Be honest with yourself about where you are compared to where you want to be in these six areas of your life:

1)   Professional — this concerns your delivery of value to make yourself better, to make your world better, and to attract abundance and prosperity into your world.  Yes, that was a fancy way of saying this is your job.  I contend that if your job is just a job, you may need some help in this area.  What do you love doing?  What are you good at?  When you combine passion and skill, the world will find you.  When you can make a living and make a life, you never have to work another day in your life.

2)    Financial — what is your relationship with money and wealth?  Do you worry about money?  Are you living within your means?  Have you reached a place where the things you own no longer own you?  What is your vision for yourself if the financial aspects of your life were exactly where you wanted them?  Set SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely) goals around this area of your life and you’ll take the first step to reaching them.

3)   Spiritual — your religious beliefs or lack of them need to be a part of your vision.  Are you at peace with yourself and the source of your energy, your values, your purpose and sense of meaning?  This exploration is the deepest, most personal and in my view, most important.

4)   Emotional — how is your emotional state?  Are your thoughts controlling you?  All negative emotions are the result of believing untrue thoughts.  Have you explored where your emotions are coming from?  Do you have mechanisms in place to help you find emotional balance and inner peace?  Do you have a picture of where you would like to be?  This needs to be a part of your vision in order to create positive and meaningful change.

5)   Relationship — how are you doing with the important relationships in your life?  Are you still actively writing a love story with your significant other?  How’s the family?  Have you got a best friend?  Life is a more pleasant journey when we share it with those we love.  Loving those we want in our lives requires a vision as well.  They are experiencing this chaotic change as well.  You can enjoy the journey with those you love.

6)   Health and Wellness — your physical body is the vessel that you have to take you on this amazing trip called life.  Your body changes too.  You need to make wise choices every moment to care for your body and mind.  Choosing healthy foods in the right amounts.  Choosing to exercise the body to give you the strength and vitality you need to accomplish and experience your life goals.  Wise food choices and commitment to exercise will also relieve stress and create positive emotions that self-perpetuate good habits.

Clarify your vision for what you want your life to look like in these six areas and you will be well on your way to orchestrating positive and meaningful change in your life.  Be well, my friend.