How would your world be different if you had more resilience?
A couple of weeks ago I lost a piece of business. Not a piece of business I already had, but one that I had been approached about and told I was their choice. They needed to have some planning meetings and then would be in touch. Later, when I called to follow up they said another person got involved in the project and they ended up going with someone else.
I was bummed. It was a great opportunity for an organization where I knew my material would make a significant impact. And of course it was a loss of revenue as well.
It almost ruined my day. As I sat grumbling about my bad fortune I decided that I just didn’t feel like following through with a workout for that day. I just got bad news after all, so I should be kind to myself right? What’s more kind than allowing myself to veg out after work with wine and Wheel of Fortune?
Following through with the workout, that’s what.
I tried to project into the evening and see what would truly make me feel better. As you might guess, skipping the workout would have had the opposite effect. Then I’d be thinking not only about losing the piece of business but about being a slacker, too.
I did the workout giving it every ounce of energy and enthusiasm I had and felt better immediately. Heck, the better feeling started while changing into workout gear because I was taking control of my day and my brain.
This is resilience and we all have it in there. You’ve bounced back from disappointment or bad times. You may need to use it more often and for most, work on increasing it, but it’s in there.
When to tap into resilience
You can tap into your resilience any time you want. Today is better than tomorrow almost every time.
Mad at yourself because you’ve blown your diet by lunchtime? Get back on track by 2:00 pm. Lose your entire morning because you got sucked into email when you had more important things you could have been accomplishing? Get productive the second you realize it. Lose a piece of business? Commit yourself to staying focused on business development and landing something else. Bad conversation with a bully or malcontent at work? Shake it off and move on. Their negativity is all about them, not you.
About that piece of business I lost? In a couple of days a call came in that replaced it. I was glad I hadn’t wallowed and wasted more time.
My tagline says, “Be the Boss of You” and a big part of that is resilience. You get to decide whether bad news/disappointment/frustration rules you or if you are in charge. Oddly, you’re even in charge of deciding whether or not you’re in charge. The power you have is astounding.
Take it.