Blog written by recruiter Koreena Geisler-Wagner.
When something tragic or unexpected happens, we often say “c’est la vie” or “that’s life.” Sometimes this can seem like a mantra we repeat to ourselves over and over because we cannot find a logical reason behind certain events unfolding. Really, what we’re saying in these situations is that the only thing we can truly control is our response– it is always easier to fold, to think the universe is against you, to stew in a pool of woe. And yet, like most “easy paths,” this option does little for us in the long run.
In her article “Sheryl Sandberg has one tip for making each workday joyous,” Monica Torres discusses Sandberg’s commencement speech at Virginia tech on resilience and how we can cultivate a stronger resiliency to all the things life throws our way. Her advice, in short:
We are not born with a certain amount of resilience – it is a muscle and that means we can build it. We build it together, as a community. That’s called ‘collective resilience,’ it’s an incredibly powerful force – and it’s one that our country and our world need a lot more of right now. It is in our relationships with each other that we find our will to live, our capacity to love, and our ability to bring change into this world.
Another great trick to building resiliency is simply taking time to remind yourself of all the things currently going right in life. Every night before falling asleep Sandberg takes a moment to physically write down three moments of joy from her day– drifting into sleep on a positive note seems small, but actually makes quite a difference in terms of sleep quality and your resilient approach to life the next morning.
Photo: retrieved from Flickr, available under the public domain.