I was talking to a Healthcare executive today who owns an electric car. He made a very profound observation--the car is state of the art; but it's of no use unless it gets plugged in regularly. No renewed energy, no usefulness. It will limp down the road or be parked in the garage.
Building effective and lasting resilience is fairly simple: crack the energy code = pay intentional, strategic attention to what positively energizes you and then do them, often. Build your life around them.
Like:
use your strengths.
Know yourself and be true to yourself.
Know your circadian rhythm and live by it.
Focus on your purpose--why you're doing what you do.
Express appreciation to yourself and others.
Faithfully keep a gratitude list.
Surround yourself with mutual social support.
Speak up when it's important to you.
Check items off your To Do list.
Do something nice to someone else.
Take meaningful breaks during the day.
Day dream and do nothing at times.
And the list goes on and on. The key is to make sure you’re doing what positively energizes and rebuilds your lagging spirit.
Resilience doesn't come to us automatically and magically. We are the driver of our own unique resilience car. So let's make sure we're plugging in regularly and strategically.