Emotional Resilience

A recent nasty cold, amongst other things, set me thinking about how differently we all cope with illness, physically and emotionally. How all of it affects what can happen next, such as how quickly we descend into self-pity or victimhood having a bearing on how soon (or whether?) we recover.

What I found particularly interesting was how easily I started to see the cold as "normal", projecting it and all its symptoms onto future experiences and turning life into an insurmountable obstacle. It was at that point that I decided I really needed to go back to sleep!

And mindfulness is an extremely useful tool where sleep is not an option - bringing yourself back to the reality of the here-and-now (aching limbs, sore throat, exhaustion, etc), acknowledging that there's a good reason for it, allowing yourself to feel that way for the moment, understanding that the best road to healing is to look after yourself properly NOW, give your body what it needs (rest?!) and recognising that you can deal with anything else as it arises.

We do it all the time, without realising, allowing our current mood or state-of-health to dictate our future plans, for good or bad. Clearly, until we're able to see into the future and predict outcomes accurately, we have to make any decisions in the present [😑] and without the benefit of foresight, but being aware of our moods and their possible causes is an important part of the process. Building resilience is what enables us to cope with everything more readily, to make better, more-informed decsions, and the really good news is that we can develop and strengthen it.