Reframing = One simple way to build resilience

There isn’t any one thing you have to do to become more resilient. Instead, there is a group of qualities you can draw on. Some, come more naturally than others. But, those you aren’t so good at can be strengthened. That’s the cool thing about resilience – you can get stronger.

It doesn’t mean that you won’t feel pain or experience adversity. It simply means that when you do, you will move through those times with grace and awareness. And it works just as well for the daily drama as it does on the big scary stuff.

I’ve studied resilience a lot (I know I’ve written about it a lot too, but I love anything that we can all apply and this stuff works.) I think it’s the equal-opportunity-self-help-strategy because anyone can learn it.  Which means we can all use it. If you’re curious about just how to develop your own resilience, check out my new class “Reframe the Tough Times” and learn to bounce back from anything now appearing on the Daily Om. The class covers the qualities of resilience, talks about how to practice them and even offers guided meditations and visualizations. One of the lesson topics is reframing.

Reframing is a relatively simple concept: you take a new look at an old situation. You change your perspective and reframe your circumstance. You change your life simply by changing the way you look at your life.

Try it today. Pick something that feels bad or negative. Something that’s really bugging you and reframe it. Instead of focusing on the lack of money while paying the bills, for example, you could be grateful for the money you do have. While you are annoyed that you aren’t losing weight, you can also be happy that you have become aware of your body and health. A job loss can be scary, devastating, unsettling AND it can also be a gateway to greater possibility.

Reframing doesn’t mean that you move into denial or that you ignore the negative feelings or experiences. It simply allows you to look at the situation from a different perspectives and in that way you turn adversity into opportunity.

This one quality alone has changed the way I experience my days and it is actually one of the easiest things to apply. Give it a go and notice how just a little shift in your thoughts can shift your experience of a tough time.

Reframing is just one of about a dozen resilience-building skills I teach in the Daily Om program. And there are lots of other great personal development and spirituality courses available there. Hope to see in the Daily Om community.