We all need resilience building for life. It does not matter who you are, where you live or how much money you have: we all need to learn resilience in our lives.
There are only two guarantees in life. Death will happen at some stage and change will come unexpectedly. Those two things are certain. You cannot change that, no matter who you are.
When change comes unexpectedly you often won’t want it. You may resist it, scream, shout, and curse. But ultimately you will have to have resilience and adapt to that change.
I was born with a genetic problem. I have problems building muscle and I can’t keep warm when the temperature drops, as my shiver reflex doesn’t work properly. As a child I would fall and get told it was all in my head. I grew up in the cold and the snow, with a lot of pain.
When at the age of 5 years old, I discovered ballet, I learnt to build muscle and became a professional dancer.
I have always worked out. At 68, I must work out 10 to 14 hours per week to maintain my muscle mass. It’s just a fact of life. I adapted.
When disaster happens, and it will, remember if you are not meant to be here, you are meant to be there. Accept it and make plans to go forward.
Dr Tracie O’Keefe dancing The Queen of Hearts at 68 years young
Resilience is what you do, not what you have.
What to do:
- Assess the situation carefully without emotion. Step back and watch as if it was happening to someone else. If it happened to your friend what would you advise them to do?
- Make yourself safe, no matter what your circumstances. Take immediate action to get out of the way of disaster.
- Take stock of all your resources from the smallest to the largest. It’s often the tiniest things that can help.
- Get help. Professional help if you need it. Other people’s knowledge could help you go in the right direction quicker.
- Make plans. Don’t just sit and feel sorry for yourself. Don’t do pity parties.
- Take measures to minimise the disaster happening again or at least reduce its impact.
- Be prepared to move forward. What happened is done, and there is nothing you can do about that. What you can do is create something new in its place now.
One of the strange things about life is you can often find new wonderful things to experience after disasters. If it had not happened, you would have missed out on those.
At 68 years young, like everyone else, I’ve had many disasters in my own life and may have more to come. However, I learnt at an early age not to listen to people who told me I could not do things.
Dr Tracie Number 1 Amazon bestselling book ‘Inspiration For Survive and Prosper’
I understood that some people give rubbish advice. If I’d listened to the people who told me my condition was all my head, I would be in a wheelchair now.
If I had stayed in the UK, I would be dead of hypothermia from the cold winters. Instead, I moved to warmer climates.
The disasters in life come without warning and we can all be deeply affected by them because we are human. However, the reality of life is that none of us can avoid fate. So, start to systematically train yourself on how to deal with them when they happen.
Listen to the people who tell you that you can get over the disaster, be resilient and go forward to have a good life. They are the people you need to follow.
Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH, BHSc, ND is a trauma therapist who uses hypnotherapy to speedy recovery. You can consult in the office or by Zoom from anywhere in the world.
Call our central booking for your FREE telephone consultation with Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH. Phone 0403 398 808,
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