The second article in a series of articles relating to Building resilience and handling stress. In this article we will go into more detail on how our reactions to the triggers of stress control our mood/ beliefs. So, let’s do like last time and work through an example.
Try recall a major setback that’s happened in your life?
To name just a few examples; you lost your job, you broke your leg, or got dumped by your childhood sweetheart.
What was your response to this “Major Setback”? Was it something like this?
There’s nothing I can do now.
This is a disaster!
I’m such an idiot.
Alternative Responses to a “Major Setback”:
This is an inconvenience.
What can I do?
I made a mistake and I’ll learn from it.
Be mindful of your language!
If you repeatedly say something or if you repeatedly hear something you will begin to believe it as the truth. You unconsciously reinforce the negative comments you are making.
What Positives can come from these setbacks?
Re-Prioritise, refocus your brain and your attention towards aspects of your life that provide you with the most value.
Find out who your true friends are. Friends can become a support network in times you are in need. Setbacks can help show you who’s in your life for the good times and the bad times. (It’s easy to be a friend or a loved one in the good times but a true friend/ loved one will stick with you through thick and thin.)
Discover things about yourself, when faced with difficulty or out of your comfort zone you will often find you are much stronger than you think, you can do things/ deal with things you never thought possible. The only reason you never did them before was the limitation you set yourself in you brain.
Lad Advice Summary: how this article can help you by building resilience and handling stress:
You have the ability to be your own best friend or your own worst enemy depending on how you control your thoughts and outlook of life. If you continually tell yourself negative things, it is very difficult to see positive results. From negative events/ experiences, if you look a little closer, take a step back, you will see there are always positives outcomes which you can focus on.
