Resilience to Stress Series: Wrap-Up
Strategies to manage stress, prevent overwhelm and avoid burnout. Preview; Pt. 1: Staying Grounded; Pt. 2: Staying Gritty; Pt. 3: Staying Growth-Oriented
Last year, I read Think like a Monk by Jay Shetty. He shared a research story that reminds me of an essential ingredient for resilience-building. He described intriguing environmental research in Arizona called the Biosphere 2 - a 3.14-acre laboratory that has recreated various ecosystems from deserts to oceans to rainforests. It's designed to provide ideal living conditions for each environment. Yet, there was something that kept happening to the trees that they didn't expect. When the trees in the biosphere reached a certain height…they would fall over. After being stumped for a time, researchers finally realized one key natural element of the earth they didn't consider when creating the biosphere. Wind. Without wind's steady pressure on the tree as it grows, it doesn't build the resiliency it needs to hold itself up. The stress of the wind helps the tree deepen its roots, increase the strength of its trunk and expand the durability of its branches. An excellent metaphor for the three G's of resilience: grounding, grit and growth. Embracing a healthy amount of stress in life will deepen your roots (grounding), will strengthen your core for the elements (grit) and will enable you to reach higher and wider with your potential (growth). Stressors like challenges, setbacks and failures are forces of nature, like the wind for the trees, designed to build you up, not break you down. Reflect: In what ways is a current stress or struggle making you stronger?
Love these insights? Get them delivered directly to your inbox: Subscribe
