What is resilience exactly? We hear it often. It’s cheered on when someone is battling a difficulty or when someone wins at life. Our peers and the people around tell us to be more resilient. It isn’t an unfamiliar word that the dictionary came up with recently. No. Though that doesn’t take away its relevance. In fact, the more problems get thrown at us, the more important this word is.

Simply put, resilience is having the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. In this life, we will all go through difficulties. That is life. Often, our difficulties might mean that getting up isn’t as easy as we wished it would be. Going after your dreams isn’t easy. Not settling isn’t easy because often the easiest route seems the most satisfying. That, though, is temporary. Cultivating resilience is how you defy the odds and achieve your dreams.

They are people who get knocked down and are up before you can count to three. Okay, you probably will count to three before they get up. I’m sure you get the point. These people seem to never let failure pull them down. Maybe you have admired that and even wondered how to do it as well. In this blog post, I will talk all about how you can cultivate resilience.

A strong why

 One of the easiest ways to cultivate resilience so you can defy the odds is having a strong why. This here is the key to many things. Think about. Think of anyone who you admire. What has kept them going even when they get knocked down? We all have struggles. Struggles isn’t something that only the unsuccessful go through. Every successful person has gone through struggles. 

What separates them from you isn’t a magic word or an unexplained tour de force. Nope. It isn’t something that we can’t understand. Yes, some people have had help to get to where they are. Looking at you, Kylie Jenner. Still, starting and running a business isn’t easy. Got to give credit where it is due. You need a strong why. A reason to get out of the bed.

Most people don’t have a strong why. Many people come up with a flimsy reason. Making lots of money. That lasts as long as you’re willing to keep grinding in the early morning. Then it’s gone. Faster than you can count. So, making money isn’t a powerful reason. It’s a reason everyone uses, but it rarely works well. And you will become aimless. Point is cultivating resilience is about getting up and when you have a potent reason, it’s easier. 

Also Related: Why Should Find Your Purpose

Your defining moment

We all need a defining moment. Something that changes course and helps us to keep going. This is how you defy the odds and cultivate resilience. I remember the moment well. I was in grade school hoping to be something more than what I was. It was career day. Until that point, I did not know what I wanted to do with my life. Sure, I was ten. I was still very young, but I had no clue. Not a smidge. I changed dreams according to what was trending. Yeah, I was that kid.

There was nothing I could hold on to. I wasn’t gifted or sporty. It was as if I was just there. Now I know that was the pressure society pushed on young children. When it was my time, I did not know. What I knew, I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to live an extraordinary life. Something worthy beyond measure. Ordinary actions don’t equate to an extraordinary life.

Thing is we have several defining moments in life. That was maybe my second. My first was when I was eight. I digress. These defining moments set you up for life. They change your course. It helps you cultivate resilience. So, at ten, I had my second defining moment. I went onto have different ones at different points in time. Though, whenever life beats me down, I remember the ten-year-old me. The one who didn’t believe in giving in, despite the frantic sprays of the children in the sandbox. I kept going and you should as well.

Remember your defining moment as the time when things shifted for you. This will help you cultivate the resilience you need. 

Your inner voice

 We all have two inner voices. The critic and the cheerleader. The critic admonishes you for mere mistakes. Whereas the cheerleader tells you to keep going. Many of us listen to the critic’s voice more. That is why it’s always the loudest. “You aren’t good enough.” It tells you. “What makes you think you are anything or worth anything?” Yeah, the critic’s voice sucks and often you wish you could mute it.

Well, you can. It requires training. Not hectic. Sweat on your brows and panting loudly type of training. You just have to train your voice. The voice that tells you can, but is so low you have to increase the volume. We all have the potential for greatness. I know how cliché that sounds. How many gurus tell you that? How many say that you can achieve X, Y and Z. Yet, they don’t give you the tools?

I was highly critical of myself. I used to be a negative person. The one you want to avoid. Sure, I had my moments, though that didn’t take away my critical inner voice. So, when I’m telling you can change, you can. This is how to change the tone of your voice. Keep telling yourself you can do it. When your critic tells you otherwise, remind it of your successes. It can be small. It doesn’t matter. What matters is to stop giving your inner critic relevance. That is how you defy the odds and achieve your dreams.

Also Related: How to Silence Your Inner Critic

Baby steps

Ancient Rome grew from a small town on Italy’s Tiber River into an empire. That took years. Hundreds of years. It didn’t happen overnight. So, you got to be easy on yourself. Cultivating resilience isn’t going to happen overnight. It takes months or even years for you to achieve this. The key here is to keep building on it. To keep focusing on what you can achieve and go after it. You got this. 

For me, it took constantly having to reinforce it. Sure, that was annoying, but now it’s worth it. There are a lot of reasons for cultivating resilience. One of the most vital ones is you don’t give up as easily. You keep going after your dreams. That is so important. Because when you don’t give up, there’s a reward at the end of the rainbow. Something you always envisioned, but never believed it was possible to achieve. There’s so much worth and joy in going after your dreams. You can also inspire so many people with your story.

How will you cultivate resilience so you can defy the odds. Comment below and I will reply as soon as possible

                                                         KEEP  PUSHING

                                                           VANESSA