Resilience in volatile and uncertain times
1. Where are you now?
Give ourselves the permission to
be human, embrace whatever
emotion comes up no matter how
unpleasant or unwanted. Rather
than denying or rejecting the
painful feelings associated with
the situation - whether fear or
frustration, anxiety or anger - it is
better to allow these to take their
natural course. Express your
emotions, be it by journaling,
talking to people we trust, or by
simply opening our floodgates
rather than holding back the
tears. The paradox is that to fulfill
our potential for happiness, we
must allow in unhappiness.
From whom would you need
support and which persons
company serves you well?
Spending quality time with people
you care about and who care
about you, is especially important
now. REACH OUT.
Text modified from Tal Ben Shahar, Harvard University
2. What activity would help you to
process the current state and to
increase your wellbeing?
Exercise: even if you cannot go to the
gym, take a 30-minute walk outside, or (in
case you’re quarantined at home) engage
in one of the many High Intensity Interval
Training practices available online.
Exercise does not just make us physically
tougher, it significantly contributes to our
psychological toughness.
Gratitude: can help us through difficult
times. So spend two minutes, as you
wake up or just before you go to bed,
writing down those things for which you’re
grateful.
Distraction: is not synonymous with
denial. Constantly thinking about the
virus, is unhelpful. Watching your favorite
TV series, listening to music, meditating,
or engaging in one of the many activities
that get your mind off of the virus can
constitute a healthy form of distraction.
3. What can you influence?
Focus on what you can influence,
spending a lot energy, feelings
and thoughts on situations that
we cannot influence will most
likely drain you and move you
towards the feeling of
helplessness. Focusing on
activities where you also sense
that you are influencing
something, will strengthen you.
Write down your concerns –
which of those can you influence,
completely and also partially?
Focus on those!
Concerns
Influence
4. What about the future?
In the current situation we cannot
tell how long the Coronavirus
situation will impact us and to
which degree, so focusing on the
decisions day for day as per Bill
Anderson:
As per Bill Anderson
1. Make the decisions you
need to make today!
2. Tomorrow, again make
the decisions you need
to make tomorrow…
3. The day after tomorrow,
and so on…