Resilience is about bouncing back from failure, defeat or disappointment, and learning how to make the most of your setbacks or losses. Here are 8 things emotionally resilient people do differently that the rest of us can learn from. If you wish to be more emotionally resilient, hold yourself accountable to: Rise to the challenge. […]
Dear Neil: Is there a way to measure how resilient a person is? My girlfriend walked out on me the same week I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I’m handling things okay, but it got me to wondering if being resilient is something I could cultivate or develop. Any ideas? Holding On In San Francisco […]
Whether you have recently divorced, lost a loved one, lost your job or your self-esteem—how do you recover from loss, failure, rejection or adversity? Some people are facing a medical crisis; others have lost a dream; still others have lost their house, or their savings. Regardless of the disappointments and misfortunes that have befallen you, […]
Note: This is the first of a two-part series. Click here for part two It has been almost 17 years since my house burned to the ground, destroying everything I owned. The trauma, so vivid when it occurred—and it remained vivid for years—has faded into a more distant memory. Whatever I lost has been replaced, […]
Do you sometimes feel completely defeated? Perhaps you feel that things are outrageously hard and you’d like to just give up, or perhaps you feel it’s just too hard to (choose one): find a love relationship with someone you’re attracted to and who is attracted back, get along, like the person you’re married or committed […]
What am I grateful for? It’s a funny subject for me to choose to write about. Three months ago, I lost my home in a forest fire—and with it just about everything I own. So why in the world would I choose to write on what I’m grateful for when I have so much to […]
Dear Neil: I lost my beautiful 18 year old daughter two years ago. She was killed in a car accident. I find myself increasingly more and more bitter as the months and years go by. I know my life will never be the same, but I am unprepared at how overwhelmed I continue to be […]
Dear Neil: Over the past five years, there have been many personal losses in my life. Recent years have been marked by the sudden deaths of people close to me: my stepfather, my uncle, two of my best girl-friends, my counselor and two close male friends. I also have lost several dear pets and a […]
Dear Neil: In the past several months, I have lost my job, have been unsuccessful in getting another one—and my house is getting foreclosed upon. All of this has put tremendous strain on both our family and our relationship. I find myself having a hard time staying focused and being productive, largely because I feel […]
Success in life encompasses such features as positive relationships with others, contentment at work, feeling as if you’re in control of your future, a positive outlook and resilience. What is resilience? A resilient mindset, says Robert Brooks and Sam Goldstein in the book The Power of Resilience (Contemporary Books) consists of: Establishing realistic goals and expectations […]