A shift toward resilience

-
For many of us at App State, we are rounding 6 weeks of working from home. 6 weeks ago feels very far away, but at the same time, like yesterday. Like many of you, I have ridden an emotional roller coaster in those 6 weeks. I have felt comforted while home with my family, gratitude for being able to continue my work, relief to be healthy, and joy to have a window in my office!



I have also felt intense fear and anxiety. I often find my mind wandering, considering the options of what will happen and how I will deal with the unexpected when it comes. I have had to work through the process of adjusting to a new schedule and the isolation of not being with my community. I have had to fight letting my mind wander through all of the potential scenarios that the next few months might bring. It has not been what I expected, though I'm not sure anyone could have envisioned what this would look like.

While I've ridden this roller coaster, I have found that I've learned things about myself. I have gained a greater level of self-awareness. I have learned new skills. I have discovered opportunities to support the faculty and staff at App State that I would never have considered. This is a major byproduct of the Covid-19 pandemic for which I am grateful. It has been a opportunity to build resilience.

Resilience can be defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. As we continue to weather the months to come, we will have the opportunity to continue to build this resilience. This article gave me greater insight into understanding resilience and how to build it.

I will focus in more depth on resilience building techniques and behaviors in future posts, but I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce you to the concept. And I want to reassure you that whether today is a peak or a valley on your roller coaster, the ride itself is help you build the resilience it will take to get through this together.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gimme a break!

-
Image
And give yourself one too! Dan Pink is a well-known author who wrote a book entitled  When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing . When  examines research about how we make our decisions about when to do things. It focuses specifically on the timing of our work day.  Pink says that we make the erroneous assumption that our energy levels are static throughout the day. The science says otherwise: our energy levels wax and wane depending on our morning/night person orientation and the tasks we need to do. He encourages us to pay attention to how the "flow" of our day moves depending on whether we are morning people, what he calls "larks" or evening people, what he calls "owls", and to choose the right tasks to do based on our energy levels. He also discusses the science behind taking breaks. He discusses his formula for a great break in this video , but here's the short version. Breaks taken with other people are more restorative. Research sho...
Read more

Conquer loneliness!

-
Image
Working from home, or #WFH to those utilizing hashtags, has presented several unforeseen opportunities and challenges for all of us. While I, personally, have learned to love this new telework situation, there have still been moments of debilitating loneliness in which I have found myself. Turns out, I am not alone. Last year, online brand development agency Buffer conducted a study of 2,500 remote workers, and found that loneliness was the second-most reported challenge , one experienced by 19% of respondents. Loneliness can make people feel less motivated and less productive .  How can we combat this? Be creative in your social connection! Due to this current pandemic, it is not clear how long people will be at home; however, think outside the box on ways to connect to your office mates and colleagues. Try a virtual pizza party, or even a video happy hour (outside of your designated working hours, of course). Trying social gatherings virtually will feel weird at first, but...
Read more

Find your gratitude anchors

-
Image
It's raining outside...again. We are entering day 486 of the stay at home order and I know I am not the only one whose attitude could be better. I know there are many factors and many layers to why I feel this way and why my disposition is less than rosy!  Several years ago, I created a workshop called "Attitude of Gratitude" which was based around the idea of finding ways to be grateful. I occasionally go back to the material from that workshop and use it to help me find the good in situations. So, if you are struggling with the state of the world, the weather, or fear of the unknown, here are a few lists you can make to anchor yourself in gratitude.  1) Make a list of the things that make you happy right now. Nothing is off limits.  2) List the things that you are good at.  3) Reflect on the best choices you've made in your life.  4) List the things you like to do that don't involve technology.  5) List the things in your life that you actually ARE in con...
Read more