Response Flexibility – Shifting Perspectives
Loading Bricks, Feeding the Family, Building a Cathedral
There’s a wonderful teaching story of three men all working on the same construction site. A passer-by asks one of the men what he’s doing. He answers somewhat surly, “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m hauling bricks!” The passer-by asks the second man what he’s doing. He answers stands up with tangible pride, […]
Shifting Perspectives – Often a Key Requirement of Resilience
“Triumph over adversity on behalf of a noble cause” has long been my favorite film genre, and I’ve just come through my annual immersion in the Mill Valley Film Festival, 200 films in 11 days for them, 26 films for me, learning so much from the intense, inspiring, illuminating examples of how other people cope […]
Being Confused at a Higher Level
The sign posted over the entrance to the electrical engineering lab at SRI International, a consulting firm for large government and corporate projects: We have not solved your problem. In fact, we have more questions than when we started. But we believe we are confused at a higher level and about more important things. My […]
How You Respond to the Issue….Is the Issue
The smoke alarm in my bedroom went off at 6:30 am this morning. Absolutely nothing was happening in terms of fire or smoke, but when I tried to turn it off or dismantle the battery, a voice message kept saying “Fire! Fire” Carbon monoxide.”Bewildered and annoyed by the constant beeping, I called the fire department. […]
Good Stress v. Bad Stress
I’ve certainly experienced my heart pounding, my breath getting short, my thoughts racing – the human stress response – when a small child darted in front of my car chasing a ball last year or the time I dropped my car keys down a storm drain. (Only once!) You’re probably familiar with similar rushes of […]
Shift Your Perspective – Look for the Helpers, Look for the Bigger Picture
Fred Rogers, the beloved host of PBS’s Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, advised his young viewers to “look for the helpers” any time they experienced or witnessed a tragic event – a building on fire, homes swept away in a devastating flood. There would always be people helping – bringing food, offering a place to stay. And […]
The Need for Resilience Is Not a Surprise; It’s Predictable. Make Your “If…Then” Plans
As we learned in this interview with Dr. Christine Carter, we can plan ahead, we can build resources ahead of time, so that we’re not surprised by something going wrong; we’re skillful. Expect the Unexpected You can train for the unexpected so that your skills of resilience are there when you need them. This […]
Tracking Shifts in Experience
When I stepped off a dock last winter, missed the boat, and plunged right into the ocean with my computer in my backpack on my back, (see How You Respond to the Issue…Is the Issue post) I had amply opportunity to watch my own reactions shift second by split-second: “Oh, no!” “But I’m alive!” “The […]
How You Respond to the Issue…Is the Issue
I’ve had time now to reflect on how I responded to dumping my computer in the ocean. [See Giving Thanks – for Losses and Lessons] I can offer this summary of what I think helped most (to be included in The Resilience Handbook I’m writing now, forthcoming September 2018, New World Library); what I think […]