Building Resilience

Resilience is the ability to adapt and thrive in a lifestyle that you can handle and manage throughout your life.  Dr. Roy Sugarman tells us more about what resilience is and how utilizing the 7 Body-Brain Boosters can help you to build your own sustainable resilience.

Oftentimes, we think of resilience as a the struggle of overcome or the will to get up after getting kicked down.  The movie Rocky comes to mind.  Yet, to illustrate resilience, Dr. Sugarman uses the example of nuns.  Not exactly the image of overcoming incredible hardship and struggle.  Instead, Dr. Sugarman describes building resilience as taking small steps to care for yourself and environment around you.

Booster Challenge

Throughout the week, take note of where and when you feel strong or capable.  Time when you you feel “in your zone”.  Think back to the last time you felt exactly like your were being 100% YOU.

What kind of a day was it?

What did it feel like?

What were you doing?

Who were you with or who does it remind you of?

Try to visualize that space as much as you can – is there a song, place, smell, time of year, or picture that reminds you of that feeling?  If you have pictures from that time, dig them out of your shoebox or print them out from your Facebook page.  Place these positive triggers where you’ll see them often.

I take my phone wherever I go and am always snapping pictures of things that bring me a sense of strength, peace, and happiness – visualizations of what I love.  It can be a picture of a morning latte or a dog at a park.  My Instagram feed and personal website are filled with these images so I  look back on them or can share these tiny moments with my family and friends.

It’s not much, and I encourage all of you to find your own ways to celebrate and share the small things you love in your daily life.

For further resources:

Aging with Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives. This is the study Dr. Sugarman refers to by David Snowdon.

15 Mental Shifts that Will Move You Toward Your Health and Wellness Goals. I found this podcast the other day, and really enjoyed what the host, Dean Dwyer had to say.   Please note that the podcast is from a Paleo-diet website.  I am in no way promoting or discrediting the website or the Paleo diet. I just liked this podcast — his actual advice starts around the 5 minute mark.