WOW Word-Of-the-Week #288: Resilience
January 31, 2010 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #288: Resilience
Resilience – The ability to recover quickly from illness, change, or misfortune.
How quickly do you recover from unexpected setbacks? Do you bounce back or fall apart? Do you have an inner strength that keeps you going?
Bouncing Back
The Mayo Clinic says, “Resilience is the ability to adapt well to stress, adversity, trauma or tragedy. People who have a resilient disposition are better able to maintain poise and a healthy level of physical and psychological wellness in the face of life’s challenges.”
“A resilient approach leads to addressing problems rather than avoiding them, a positive, optimistic outlook and a flexible, adaptive disposition. Research has shown that these techniques engage the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that regulates emotion, thinking and behavior.”
“If you lack resilience, you tend to dwell on problems, feel victimized, become overwhelmed and turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as substance abuse. You may even be more inclined to develop anxiety and depression.”
“Resilience won’t make your problems go away. But resilience can give you the ability to see past them, find enjoyment in life and handle stress better. If you aren’t as resilient as you’d like to be, you can develop skills to become more resilient.”
“Resiliency can be developed by learning and practicing mindfulness and other mind-body techniques. Mindfulness helps you achieve an elevated sense of awareness by consciously recognizing and accepting the present. It brings purposeful, trained attention out of the negative thoughts of the mind and into the reality of the world in the present moment.”
“…more than education, more than experience, more than training, an individual’s level of resilience will determine who succeeds and who fails.”
Harvard Business Review, 2002.
One of my favorite quotes is, “Success is going from failure to failure with enthusiasm.”
This week focus on being resilient. Do you have the ability to be calm, energized, engaged, focused and purposeful…even when things don’t go as planned? Do you address problems or avoid them? Are you consciously recognizing and accepting of your present situation?
Reader Responses
I’m amazed at the resilience of children, especially infants. When I watch our 21-month-old daughter getting through illness in a short period of time, I’m just delighted with how she does it. I guess our resilience gets tested in the work world where not everything turns out the way we want it to. And, there are times during our work lives where things can be pretty trying. All of these experiences – good and bad – help build our resilience. The trick is to stay positive in the tough times, and hopefully things will begin to turn around. However, there are people who have a tough time dealing with the rejection aspect of the work world. When that happens it is easy to feel down, or depressed. And many do. Often times that depression turns to despair for some who just can’t handle the problems facing them. It is easier said than done trying to deal with the ups and downs of life, but it we do learn to grin and bear it the best is usually yet to come. Good word, Susan. Have a great week. Take care. “Warrior” Joe
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #287: Alterable
January 24, 2010 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #287: Alterable
Alterable – capable of being changed.
How do you feel about change? Do you find it easy or difficult? Have you altered your lifestyle in the last year?
Last week I wrote about being optimistic from Dr. Ranit Mishori’s article, “Why Optimism is Powerful Medicine,” featured in Parade Magazines StayHealthy section. This week I want to share some statistics from that article.
A recent issue of the journal Circulation provides hard evidence that optimism and health are connected. Researchers studied nearly 100,000 women over eight years, tracking how many heart attacks they suffered and how long they lived. “Optimists had a 16% lower risk of having heart attacks,” says the lead author, Dr. Hilary Tindle of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
And this study, it turns out, is not the first to link optimism with better health. A 2004 study of nearly 1000 elderly Dutch people found a connection between optimism and a lower risk of death from heart disease. The reverse seems to hold true, too. Pessimists – who were followed in a 2000 Mayo Clinic study that looked at more than 800 patients over 30 years – ran a 19% higher risk of early death than optimists.
“Optimism and pessimism affect health almost as clearly as do physical factors,” says Dr. Seligman. “Optimists expect good things to happen and work toward them. They exhibit a can-do attitude. Pessimists view setbacks as permanent, unchangeable, and pervasive. They often feel helpless when things go wrong and tend to believe that bad luck repeats itself.”
This week focus on being alterable. How willing are you to deal with change? Do you lead a healthy lifestyle? If you knew that you would live longer and be happier would you be more willing to change your thoughts?
Reader Responses
Susan: Change is hard. If we all had our druthers, we would like to keep our lives on an even keel with few – if any – disruptions. It is those unexpected disruptions that turn all of our best-laid plans topsy turvy. We have an idea of what we want to do, when we want to do it, and how we want to do it. But then life happens and all of those plans go out the window. Let’s face it. There is not much we can do when life happens, except try to deal with it. But it is hard. We work hard to cover all of our bases with those things we can control, and then someone comes up and screws it all up for us. I guess how we respond to change as it takes place is as big a determining factor in how we adapt that change to our lives. In many instances we do not have a choice but to deal with the change. When it does come, it can put us on that road less traveled and take us to a place that is much better. At the time the change hits, we don’t always see how the closing of one door and the opening of another can put us in a good place. It is hard to see that big picture in our lives because we have all of these plans, and we are living inside of our own picture frame. As a result, our picture becomes very limited. I have as hard a time with change as the next person. I have experienced a number of difficult changes in my life. After having gone through them, I dealt with them as well as could be expected and moved on. It was hard, but the tough part passed. Hopefully, as I approach my dotage, I will be able to deal with whatever life throws my way. I know if won’t be easy, but I will try to look at it as optimistically as possible. Thanks for the word, Susan. Kristen and I had a break from the kids yesterday to see “Mamma Mia!” I don’t know if you have seen it, but it is a great and funny story, and features a number of Abba’s hits from the ’70s and early ’80s. We saw the last show of the run yesterday. The cast came out after the bows and sang “Dancing Queen” and “Waterloo.” A lot of fun. Take care. “Warrior” Joe
In Search of the New Seven Wonders of the World: Pyramids & Chichen Itza
January 19, 2010 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on In Search of the New Seven Wonders of the World: Pyramids & Chichen Itza
In the summer of 2007, more than 90 million people cast their votes to determine which architectural marvels in the world deserved to be one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. There were a total of twenty-one landmarks vying for that title.
Of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, only the Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt still stand. The pyramids were given an automatic spot after infuriated Egyptian officials said it was a disgrace to have to compete for something that had belonged to their country for so long. I agree!
1st New Wonder - Chichen Itza
In January, 2007, we made it to Giza to see the Pyramids, and then we cruised down the Nile for five days seeing more incredible tombs and temples. We then boarded another ship on Lake Nasser for three days and ended up in Abu Simbel. (If you want more details on our trips scroll down or type in the search bar on the top right)
It was our most favorite vacation up until Antarctica in 2009. We found out we like adventure in our vacations. In the six years we have been together we have been to all seven continents. We have lots of adventures planned for the next several years.
It is our goal to see twenty of the twenty-one landmarks. We decided that Timbuktu (once one of the world’s richest cities, in Mali, Africa) isn’t one we care to venture to. But hey, that may change!
Another Part of the Ancient City
Also, Chris and I have collectively seen a lot of the twenty, however, not together. So the rule is, we go back and see all of them together!
Very Steep Steps
In 2005, on a trip to Cozumel and Cancun we spent a very long, cramped day on a bus getting to the Chichen Itza Pyramid. And it was worth it! It is an ancient Mayan city on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. And you thought all Mexico had to offer was beer, margaritas and sandy beaches!
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #286: Optimist
January 17, 2010 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #286: Optimist
Optimist – one who looks at the bright side of a situation.
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Is the glass half full or half empty? Or, like engineers say, do you see it as being twice as big as it needs to be?
Dr. Ranit Mishori’s article, “Why Optimism is Powerful Medicine,” featured in Parade Magazines StayHealthy section says, “Most people can identify themselves as one or the other. But the fact that you’re naturally a pessimist doesn’t mean your disposition is unalterable.”
Dr. Martin Seligman, director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania says, “Pessimists can be reformed by learning new ways to think. Resilience training teaches people how to think positively. The key is learning to recognize your thought patterns. Then, by identifying negative patterns of thinking, you can learn to challenge them and replace them with positive alternatives.”
“Don’t expect instant results, though. Resilience training usually requires work with an experienced therapist. I have seen people who apply themselves massively change pessimism into optimism, and do so lastingly,” say Dr. Seligman.
“I write a lot of prescriptions – for pills, creams, and physical therapy. One thing I can’t dictate a dose of – though I wish I could – is a positive attitude. I’ve always suspected that patients who look on the bright side tend to handle medical problems better than others,” says Dr. Mishori.
This week focus on being an optimist. Are you able to look at the bright side of a situation? Are you feeling under stress a lot of the time? How important is your health?
Reader Responses
Good stuff Susan! Dr. Martin Seligman is my hero! I reference him frequently in my “How to Turn Negativity into Possibility” workshop and more recently in my #1 program “How to Stay Positive and Focused in Uncertain Times.” I always say that the title of one of his first books “Learned Optimism” is good news in itself; it suggests that we can LEARN to be more optimistic. (As you point out). I haven’t read his newest book “Authentic Happiness,” but I refer everyone in my audiencea to his website www.AuthenticHappiness.com where you can actually take various quizzes to find out: How Optimistic are you? How Grateful are you? etc.. Take care, Sarita
You know, I’ve been accused of being the eternal optimist here at work. For me, the glass is always half full. Now, I do work with a young lady who is intelligent, well-educated, but cynically pessimistic. And she continues to keep her mindset because, she says, that she has had experiences where things went badly – mostly because of things out of her control. Let’s face it, there are many things in our lives that are out of our control but we do the best we can with what we do control and make the best of it. Many times, these people are a little more self-involved than others. The young lady to whom I referred is single, lives by herself, and is unattached. There is always a flip side to an unfortunate situation. If after everything happens we continue to moan “Woe is me,” we will never be able to live happily. As much of an optimist as I am, there will be many days when I am not happy, joyous and free, but I will not let that ruin my overall positive disposition. Things could be worse, in many instances. So, let’s put on a happy face and look at the bright side. Living as an optimist is less stressful on our hearts and tends to rub off on others who see us smiling. All of us optimists have to be living examples for those who really need what we have and want. Great word, Susan. Have a great week. Take care. “Warrior” Joe
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #285: Participation
January 5, 2010 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #285: Participation
Participation – taking part or sharing in something.
Are you one who sits back and watches from the sideline? Do you like to participate in activities with others? Does getting out and doing something make you feel good?
- Legoland with Nikki
Are you ready to make 2010 a great year? This past year has been pretty tough for a lot of people. There have been plenty of negatives but there are also some positives that came out of it. A New York Times article titled, “Experience consumption on the rise” states, “Nearly half of Americans said they were spending less time buying nonessentials, and more than half are spending less money in stores and online.”
“But Americans aren’t just getting by with less. They’re also doing more. Some are working longer hours, but a larger proportion are spending additional time with family and friends, gardening, cooking, reading, watching TV and engaging in other hobbies.”
“It’s a different kind of recession. People seem to be keeping up with experience consumption and cutting back on other necessities. Psychologists have been saying for years that shared experiences such as vacations lead to more long-term happiness than the latest bauble. And many Americans described motives beyond pure economic necessity.”
I really connected with this article on several levels. One of the changes that I have made over the last 10 years is to not give gifts on birthdays or Christmas. You can buy and give a present on any other day. It makes gift giving a lot more FUN! Also, our grandkids get so many presents that we put money in their college fund and instead give them experiences all year long.
This week focus on participation. What activities can you do with your friends, family or staff? What hobbies or experiences have you always wanted to take part in? Are you doing enough gardening, cooking, reading, etc?
Reader Responses
When you mentioned participation, the image of the late George Plimpton came to mind. He made participatory sports journalism fashionable. His tryout for quarterback for the Detroit Lions and other sports made him famous, in addition to his great writing. His April Fools Day story in Sports Illustrated on the fictional Sidd Finch was a classic. I was fortunate to meet him when he appeared at one of the Sidd Finch Restaurants in the Chicago area. As he signed my copy of Sports Illustrated, I asked him what sport he would be participating next. He thought a minute, then said, “Wrestling.” He never did get the chance before he passed a few years ago. But the point is that we should not be spectators in life, but get in there and be a part of what is happening. I think too many would just like to sit on the couch, pick up the remote and click from channel to channel. My wife and I spend a lot of time reading with our girls and with each other. Yesterday I took my eight-year-old Erin Grace to a Marquette University women’s college basketball game. It was her second time, and even though it was a frigidly cold day, she enjoyed the stadium, the game, the atmosphere, and meeting the basketball coach and the players, who all signed her poster. A couple of weeks earlier, I took Erin to the American Girls store for a father-daughter luncheon. Erin brought her newest doll, Chrissa, who sat in her own chair at our table. My wife and I are hopefully going to see James Taylor and Carole King when they come through the Chicago area for a show on their “Troubadour Tour.” Most nights our television is not turned on. We are busy doing things with the girls or ourselves. Susan, there is too many great things out there to experience. And we are trying to do it to EXPERIENCE LIFE as fully as we can each day. Great word, Susan. Have a great time. Take care. “Warrior” Joe