Have you recently felt like life has been a bit of a challenge?
Have things simply not gone your way or turned out the way you expected?
Some days you feel like you've been knocked down and it's difficult to get back up.
I know because I've been there. So you feel down, and you think to yourself, "Yeah, typical, this has happened to me." You think life stinks and sink into a deep depression. The next thing you know, you're making decisions to help your new situation, and the self-sabotage cycle begins again. You're not by yourself.
I asked if anyone was stressed or struggling recently during one of my weekly meditation sessions, which drew 80 people... Guess how many people raised their hands? There were about 78 of them!
A big theme popping up for me lately is resilience. It’s really fascinating that if we have the ability to look at our challenges and setbacks in a different light then it could completely change our life! I’ve played around with this lately and it’s remarkable how it affects your mood.
I’ve even applied this to my clients during their mentoring sessions in the Inner Sanctum and it’s like a huge light was turned on in their heads. For instance, one client came to me with all sorts of health issues and addictions. He was beating himself up about the fact that his life had become this way. He had been spiraling into a deeper mess until he decided to come and see me. So I said “AWESOME! I’m so glad that your life finally became uncomfortable enough for you to go and do something about it. And now here you are. Isn’t that great?!” At first, he gave me the weirdest look but when I explained it he started to see the value in it.
This idea has presented itself three times to me through three different people lately, which means to me that it is very relevant.
First I was given a book by one of the leading brand specialists in Australia, Glen Campbell called Thick Face, Black Heart. This book discusses things as you’ve never seen before…it deals with resilience, how to have thick skin in the face of criticism, and how to keep firm with your vision and get back up when you get knocked down.
Then I was discussing with a very good mate of mine, Avnesh Ratnanesan, who is the Founder of Energesse, a book he was reading called Anti-Fragile that I mentioned before. This book is all about not being so fragile, and realising that the process of 3 steps forward, two steps back then three steps forward is actually the sequence of life and when you realise this and embrace it, you’ll move through the steps back with great resilience and come out the other side with a whole new level of growth.
Then finally, I went to a great 1-day seminar held by Sam Cawthorn. This guy is a dude! He died in a head-on car crash 6 years ago. He was revived; he lost his right arm and severely damaged his right leg, spent weeks in a coma, then a year in a wheelchair. Sam is an incredibly resilient guy and saw this incident as a gift that enabled him to find an inner strength that he may not have known was there without this experience. He became a motivational speaker and was awarded Australian Youth of the Year. Now he travels the world presenting motivational talks on resilience at some of the largest business conferences on the planet.
Think of it being like those blow-up clowns that are filled with sand in the bottom. No matter how hard you hit them they just keep popping back up again!
So here’s the opportunity to test this. Find an area of your life that is, let’s say, a current challenge. Now, this might not be the easiest thing to do, but try feeling some gratitude that you are feeling uncomfortable. Say to yourself, “This is such a blessing that I am being guided to tap into my resilience and discover my strength.”
There is nothing that you can’t handle. You can get through anything life throws at you, and people like Sam Cawthorn are a testament to that. Unleash your resilience and surge forward. Then, if you feel compelled, please share with us below how you recently overcame a challenge. Hearing about it will be motivating for us.
And if you need help working through this, please consider our meditation sessions here. These will encourage, inspire, and assist you in strengthening your mental resilience.
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