Today at a Glance
Emotional resilience is one of the critical skills to navigate life’s challenges and setbacks like a pro. It is one of those timeless skills that aid optimal performance and well-being.
As an essential part of holistic fitness, emotional fitness is vital for sustainable success.
In today’s issue, we’ll explore practical ways to build emotional resilience and provide you with resources to help you along the way.
Discover how to cultivate inner strength and mental fortitude to rise above adversity and reach for the stars.
Let’s dive in…
In Wilmington, North Carolina, a young man faced rejection when cut from his high school basketball team.
Instead of faltering, he ignited a relentless passion for the game.
Drafted third overall by the Chicago Bulls, this young man used every setback as a springboard to greatness.
He soared above adversity, won six NBA championships, and became a global icon.
Retiring twice, he returned stronger each time.
His story embodies unwavering determination, turning setbacks into stepping stones to success.
He’s the living proof that emotional resilience can inspire us all to rise, overcome, and reach for the stars.
This young man’s name…
Michael Jordan.
In today’s fast-paced and often unpredictable world, emotional resilience is one of the most valuable skills we can develop and nurture.
We can not only endure adversity, but we can also develop the power and strength to thrive and grow as a result of it.
Weekly Wisdom on building emotional resilience
The past often holds treasures that we only need to rediscover. Throughout the centuries, people have faced all kinds of adversity and have risen above and beyond what was considered “the norm” at that time—mastering themselves in the process.
The Stoics teach us we should focus on what we can control (our reactions and attitudes) and accept what we cannot control (external events).
Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher, famously said, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”
See, we develop emotional resilience not by giving up, but by cultivating inner strength and mental fortitude every time we fall.
The Buddhists teach us mindfulness and detachment from suffering.
Pain is a natural part of life. But suffering is a choice.
Develop the ability to observe your thoughts and emotions without attachment.
This de-tachment reduces the intensity of your emotional reactions and builds emotional resilience over time.
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
Monthly Mastery—Holistic Fitness
Holistic Fitness is not a fad or a new trend. It’s been around for millennia. Yoga for instance is one of the most well-documented holistic fitness systems in history. The Chinese, the old Greeks, and the Romans had theirs too. And so had the Native Americans.
They all knew for optimal performance & well-being we need physical fitness, mental clarity, emotional balance, and spiritual connection to achieve sustainable success.
Emotional Resilience is a Skill — Navigate Life’s Challenges and Setbacks like a Pro
As Maya Angelou put it, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
Well, here’s a practical roadmap to help you build emotional resilience:
1. Become Self-Aware
We can’t stress that often enough: self-awareness is one of the building blocks of the life we desire. And it is a cornerstone of cultivating emotional resilience.
Two practical ways to do that:
Reflect on Your Emotions: Start by becoming more aware of your emotional responses to different situations. Notice how you react to stress, adversity, and setbacks.
Identify Triggers: Recognize specific situations or triggers that tend to elicit stress or negative emotions in you. As soon as you notice your negative s*it talk—STOP.
Reflect on what caused it to start.
For us, it often starts with frustration.
2. Practice Mindfulness and Acceptance
Mindfulness is a practical tool to elevate self-awareness. You become the observer and explorer of your inner world. You become the object of life-long study.
- Practice Mindfulness: You don’t need to meditate, but it can be helpful for beginners. Learn the fundamental techniques to observe your thoughts and feelings without judgment.
- Acceptance: Learn to accept your emotions as they are. Don’t try to suppress or deny them. Emotions are natural responses to life’s challenges. Feel them. Then let them move on.
3. Adapt and Work your Way forward
Humans are the most adaptive species on the planet. That gives us an unfair advantage over all the others. The responsibility of the strong is to take care of the weak.
- Develop Problem-Solving Skills: Enhance your ability to identify solutions. In the face of global warming, we need to take practical steps to address these challenges. Our health is at stake.
- Learn from Mistakes: Failures and setbacks are not detrimental. View them as opportunities for learning and growth. Embrace a growth mindset.
4. Maintain Physical Health
Physical health is vital for mental health and emotional resilience. A strong and resilient body hosts a strong and resilient mind.
Our top 3 hacks:
- Exercise Regularly: Engage in physical activities that you enjoy. Movement and exercise have a powerful cascading impact on both physical and emotional well-being.
- Eat Well: Consume a balanced diet rich in nutrients that support brain health. The Mediterranean diet is a great one. It also helps to elongate health AND life span.
- Prioritize Sleep: Ensure you get enough quality sleep to feel well-rested and regenerated. There is no magic formula for how long you should sleep. Rather listen to your body.
5. Manage External and Internal Stress
Stress is a global pandemic. And it’s even more on the rise. Building emotional resilience is a way to cope with it. In fact, humans need stress to thrive. But we also need rest. It’s the consistent stress that makes us tense and sick.
Two simple ways:
- Practice Relaxation Techniques: Deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or yoga work exceptionally well to manage stress effectively. Beyond Movement combines all of them.
- Energy Management: Identify the most soul-sucking energy thieves in work and life. That could be unsupportive friends, overwhelming tasks, or a noisy environment. Make an audit and cut out what (or who) drains you. (find more on Energy Management in our Ultimate Guide)
Resource Discovery on building emotional resilience
Lucy Hone experienced profound loss. Her TED Talk is a deeply personal and moving exploration of resilience.
Here are our key takeaways from her three crucial strategies:
- Acknowledge pain and suffering by allowing emotions to surface.
Emotional resilience doesn’t mean suppressing or avoiding negative emotions. Rather acknowledge them and allow them to be felt.
- Face “highjacked thinking” and focus on factors that can be controlled.
When our minds become consumed by things we cannot control we need to flip the switch.
Focus on things that can be controlled, e.g.
- attitudes
- responses
- actions
- Foster a sense of connection and support through human relationships.
Reach out to friends, family, and support networks during difficult times. They will never let you down. They hold a safe space and provide a source of strength and comfort. That’s the power of human connection.
Lucy Hone has a profound message for us: resilience is attainable by confronting grief, focusing on the manageable, and embracing the strength of human connections.
That’s it for today.
Hope you enjoyed it (and learned something new).
What’s going on in our world
This week we returned to Sicily after 6 incredible months in Mexico.
It has been a time for travel and reflection.
A time to rest and recharge after two exhausting days of travel.
Time to regenerate.
Time to be grateful.
We’ll be back next week.
Fresh. Renewed. Energetic.
As always, stay fit, stay active, and enjoy your life.
Ketty & Markus
