Brilliance without Resilience Won’t get you Very far: 8 Tips for Building Your Resilience

Peggie Kirkland  0:04  
Welcome to the Momma's Motivational Messages podcast, where women learn to stop putting themselves on the back-burner, and start paying attention to caring for themselves first, so they can be better for everyone else in their lives. I know you'll be inspired by the stories of resiliency and starting over of health and self healing, of gaining clarity through journaling, of showing self-love through world travel, and the list goes on. I encourage you to relax and enjoy. I'm your host, Peggie Kirkland, PK.

Peggie Kirkland  0:46  
Hi everyone. After watching everything that is going on at home and abroad, I felt compelled to share some strategies for building resilience in today's show. You'd have to be living under a proverbial rock. And a pretty large one of that, not to know about the war in Ukraine, right? I mean, there's no shortage of ongoing accounts of the humanitarian crisis in which these people find themselves. It is so heartbreaking to see the devastation of cities, the loss of life, and the impact that it's having on the people there, especially the women and girls. 

Peggie Kirkland  1:37  
As I look at it, I think Ukrainian women are being called on to be resilient in unthinkable ways, as they say goodbye to the males in their lives, the ones who are of age and have to fight for their country. And that forces them, the women, to take on full responsibility for taking care of their children and other family members, some of whom might be elderly or disabled. Now to be clear, this is not the first time women have been called on to fill these roles in times of humanitarian crises in other parts of the world. This is just the most current situation. In fact, according to the UN Women publication, recent estimates indicate that 54% of people in need of assistance from the Ukraine crisis are women. So, in addition to all of their physical needs, these women are going to need to build their resilience in order to support their families. 

Peggie Kirkland  2:55  
Now, while you may be thinking about these Ukrainian women, and ways in which you can help, you may also be thinking about your own resilience. In our own lives, we are called on to be resilient, sometimes without warning. For example, I was just talking to a friend who buried four uncles in six months, someone else is in a daily fight to be promoted to a position, which she earned the old fashioned way. And that is with hard work, determination and loyalty to the company. Someone else lost her daughter suddenly, to an undiagnosed disease of the liver. I mean, there's no shortage of circumstances in which you can be called on to be resilient. You might be skilled, talented, educated and brilliant. But if you're not resilient, persistent and gritty, being brilliant, won't matter. Case in point, the nomination hearings for the supremely qualified judge could tangi brown Jackson. Need I say more? So today, I want to share eight strategies with you that can help you to build your own resilience. 

Peggie Kirkland  4:26  
Number one, take excellent care of yourself. I know that self care is a buzzword, very popular these days. But I want to tell you that no matter what is going on in your life, you still need proper nutrition, sufficient sleep, love, exercise, and fun. Paying attention to these things can help your body deal with the stress so that you can reduce the effect On your emotions. So take the care of yourself, especially your mental health. And you'll be in a better position to weather challenges. 

Peggie Kirkland  5:11  
Most people tend to ignore their needs during difficult times. Yep, you put your needs on the backburner while attending to the needs of others. But this is a big mistake because you can't save someone from a burning building, if you yourself are on fire with no way out. So take good care of yourself first.

Peggie Kirkland  5:38  
 Number two, stay in contact with others. When times are tough, it's really natural to just want to isolate yourself and crawl into a hole and be by yourself, you know what I'm talking about. But this is not the time to be alone. You can gain strength from empathetic supporters, not people who are just curious and may even relish the fact that you're going through something. Those are not the ones we're talking about here. I'm talking about individuals or groups who are capable of being a support system for you so you won't have to feel like you have to take on the world by yourself. You're stronger when you have sincere and compassionate help and support. 

Peggie Kirkland  6:29  
Number three, know that the most successful people are those with the most resilience. I know, we've become used to seeing lots of glitz and glamour on reality TV. But remember that a lot of that is staged for TV. Really wealthy individuals have to be resilient, not just in attaining their wealth, but in keeping it. And they often have to take on challenges that the average person would avoid like the plague. And as the saying goes, the more you have, the more you want. So they have to be able to bounce back from adversity. So whether you're wealthy or not, resilience is a necessary character trait. 

Peggie Kirkland  7:22  
Number four, be enterprising. Rather than waiting for things to get better, be proactive and take steps to improve your situation. You can start in small chunks, you don't have to solve what seems like a mountainous problem in one attempt;  break it down into smaller parts. Let's say for example, that you're not as financially healthy as you'd like to be. And so buying a big ticket item like a car or a home seems completely out of reach, you could start by having a financial advisor, go over your complete financial records, and outline some realistic steps to help you move toward your goal, one step at a time. As I always like to say, inch by inch, it's a cinch, but by the yard, it's hard.

Peggie Kirkland  8:22  
Number five, have a positive outlook about the outcome of things you're working on. Now, this isn't always easy to do when you're faced with one major challenge, or smaller challenges that just seem to keep coming across your path. I'm sure you've heard people say, I just can't seem to catch a break. Because day after day, they seem to be faced with one challenge after another. Well, this is a time when more than ever, you have to go to your positive place. And I know it might be a struggle. But think about it. If you've lived long enough, you've experienced challenges before and you've overcome them. This knowledge is your positive place because it lets you know that you can come out victoriously on the other end of a challenge. Think about it. When babies are learning to walk. And they fall several times. They don't ever stop trying because they have a vision of being able to get involved in all the exciting things they see happening around them more quickly. So what do they do? They persevere. Every time they fall, they get up and they go again. 

Peggie Kirkland  9:48  
Number six, take mental breaks. Now mental breaks are critical to maintaining your ability to bounce back from situations that just sap your strength and leave you feeling so disenchanted. I recommend though, that you keep a list of your favorite ways to take mental breaks. Is it by getting out and taking a walk? Is it by watching a movie? Is it by playing computer games? Is it by cranking up the music and dancing like no one is watching. Whatever your go-to is, you need to have it in place so it's there when you need it because a lot of times when you're under stress, you can become forgetful about the most common solutions that you've used in the past. 

Peggie Kirkland  10:49  
Number seven, practice mindfulness. Learning to be fully present and tuning into your thoughts and feelings, that's what you do when you practice mindfulness, and this can help you relax your body and reduce stress. Being engaged in activities like journaling, and yoga, and even prayer, if you're a person of faith can help you to be still and tune into your thoughts and feelings. If you've never done this, and you don't know how to then find a group, or an organization that can work with you. 

Peggie Kirkland  11:33  
And finally, number eight, avoid negative people and situations, at all costs. Find people who've been resilient to spend time with instead. Jim Rohn, a well known businessman, once said, "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." Think about that. Who are your five? Maybe you need to make a readjustment. I'll let you decide that. 

Peggie Kirkland  12:10  
And while you're at it, be sure to grab your 20 FREE affirmation ecards by clicking the link. These 20 affirmations will help you as you shift your mindset from focusing on what you're lacking to focusing on your strengths. In fact, I'm urging you to observe the effect that repeating these affirmations has on you. Do they make you feel more loving towards yourself? Do they make you feel more confident? Do they increase your belief in your abilities? Do they make it easier for you to take life in stride? Try to be aware of how your mind and body react when you practice repeating these affirmations. Just click the link and they will be on their way to you. Thank you for listening.

Peggie Kirkland  13:03  
If you've been inspired and encouraged by the positive messages in today's show, please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple podcast. This will help to keep the show alive. And remember, sharing is caring. So don't forget to share these gems with friends and family strangers to if you like let them know it's available wherever they listen to their podcasts. I'm counting on you to share the love. Until next time. This is PK sending you much light and a whole lot of love.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai