Resiliency key to surviving adversity

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/06/2017 (3305 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Adversity is something that all of us are likely to experience at some point in our lives.
How we perceive the adverse event is based on our beliefs, and will determine the way we interpret the situation. The good news is we are capable of changing the way we respond. That’s the message that Susan Kuz delivered at a “Blossoming When Life Brings You Lemons” workshop, one of the Rady Wellness Series.  

During the presentation to a sold-out crowd at the Rady JCC, Kuz explored the concepts of adversity, beliefs and consequences and how developing resiliency can change the way we experience an event.

The way we interpret and respond to adversity is based on our beliefs, she explained. And those beliefs will determine the consequences, or behaviours that come out of a situation. When we respond emotionally, our response may range from anger to guilt to anxiety. The Art of Struggling Well involves regulating our emotions, so we don’t feel the need to pacify ourselves by overindulging in various ways.

A positivity practitioner and coach, Kuz uses the being pukka principle — a Hindu term used to describe being the very best — to suggest how, when we are struggling, we need to get up and move forward. And that’s where resiliency comes in.  

Research shows that 30 to 50 per cent of resiliency is hereditary. The rest is leaned, so you can practise strength-focused resiliency skills such as bravery, honesty and creativity, to move through the situation.     

We all have thinking patterns and recognizing your pattern of thought is the first step in changing the way we respond.   Mind chatter, for example, are thoughts that run through your mind on a regular basis.  When you identify your mind chatter, you can learn to respond differently.  

Mind traps also involve thinking patterns. They include jumping to conclusion and magnifying or minimizing a situation.  Personalizing (you caused the problem) and externalizing (everyone else caused the problem) and over-generalizing (this always happens). So is mind-reading (thinking you know what others are thinking).   

Mind chatter and mind traps can lead to catastrophic thinking. We can avoid catastrophic thinking by identifying how likely the catastrophic belief is going to happen. Then create a best case scenario. 

Learning to recognize your patterns of thought is the first step to responding differently. The next step is to work on resiliency skills. Over time, these new skills will increase your ability to deal with adversity.   And as Kuz points, it’s not a matter of if we will experience an adverse event (whether big or small) but when. So we need to be ready.

For more information, go to www.beingpukka.com

Donna Minkus is a community correspondent for Charleswood.