There’s been a lot of talk about resilience, flexibility, adaptability, creativity as it pertains to the on-going pandemic. These words have always applied to life in general as sadly we know that no one gets by in this world without some scars. Yet, “there are people who snap when they’re knocked down and those who snap back.” The good news is that we can learn to be resilient which is the skill to persevere under conditions of enormous strain and change.
I read a study by Diane L Couto titled How Resilience Works. This is what I gleaned: Those who have studied resilience found overlap when it comes to 3 characteristics of resilient people.
- They have a staunch acceptance of reality and down to earth views of those parts of reality that matter for existence.
- A rooted belief strengthened by deeply held values that life is meaningful, and they are thus able to make meaning in terrible times.
- An uncanny facility to improvise (my personal favorite!). This characteristic is about the ability to imagine possibilities as well as to make the most with what you have.
When I think of resilience, I’m reminded of the Maze Vaginismus Forum. Our participants are from diverse backgrounds and live all over the world however they share many common traits. It’s inspiring to be exposed to so many people who are willing to share their struggles and successes in order to help themselves and others facing the challenge of vaginismus. Today I woke up to read the following post on the forum: “Don’t lose hope, ‘we’re in this together <3’ that kind of optimism and drive is what helped me get through the treatment” – Now, that’s what I’m talking about!