Resilience and Evolution
So much more than just the ability to bounce back
What is Resilience?
Resilience is much more than our ability to bounce back after something. I’m going to go so far as to say resilience is our ability to adapt. Like the lone tree in the desert that appears to be thriving. Like the parents who are now home-schooling their children. Like the business-owners who are pivoting to create new ways to engage with their customers. Without this ability, it’s less likely they will thrive. Resilience, then, is the adaptability we need to evolve.
Resilience is adaptation, and adaptation leads to evolution.
Adaptation doesn’t mean letting things roll over us. Instead, it’s knowing when to let things roll and when to walk away. This knowing is an inner sense, and it can be learned. Being able to sense what feels good is a built-in ability all of us have. But, we are also hardwired to notice what’s not good. All of this sensing is accomplished by the extremely speedy processing of our primal brain (a Billion times faster than our thinking brain!). So, becoming aware of what we’re sensing is the key to our ability to adapt. Sensing what’s good/bad/neutral can guide our choices in how we respond to life.
We can develop resilience.
Developing resilience begins with awareness of sensations in our body. Our body can be a challenging place, though, if we have pain or numbness. Noticing pleasant sensations is a nice way to start. Here’s a little something to experience right now:
Imagine a moment that was pleasant — a beautiful place in nature usually does it for me.
Notice any sensations in your body. Here are some possibilities: warmth, expansion, light, roundness, tingling.
Enjoy them. Learning to notice takes some practice, but it is possible. That’s our body’s inner guidance system. And, once we have this system “online”, the easier it is to know when to stay or when to go. This is the starting place for developing resilience.
2020 has challenged us, no doubt. But, we can adapt. We have the capacity within us. We might just need a little practice. The brief experience above is a great way to start.
Pamela Stokes, Creator and Founder of Move Into Resilience has a podcast and YouTube channel of the same name to support her mission to help others find optimal wellness.
