Are You Resilient?

First, what is resilience?

From the lens of physics, resilience is simply the ability of an object to spring back quickly into form after being stretched, over-stretched or deformed.

By the same token, we can say it is the human’s ability to spring back into shape after encountering great difficulties, problems or setbacks.

You see, our sense of resilience remains unproven until we are put to the test, and we are tested by our Creator through adversities and trials just as we test and refine metals of gold through the fierce heat of the fire.  

Now I will share one simple idea on how we can increase our capacity to quickly spring back into shape whenever we are bent by the storms of life.

Detach Yourself from Your Difficulties

By this I mean during challenging moments, instead of beating yourself up and wallowing in self-pity, just choose to detach yourself from your struggles.

Instead of saying, ‘I am bad at this,’ say: ‘I am better than this.’

That slight twist can make all the difference on the instantaneous swing of mood and thus our ability to improve, going forward.

Engraving a negative notion into our core identity can fortify negative personal beliefs, which will in turn makes it pretty more unlikely for us to develop emotional strength during difficult times.

Remember this: highly resilient people are not those without difficulties but those who have conditioned their minds to find some benefit in every ugly situation. 

As a result, they tend to use those difficult situations as fuel to carry on, rather than reasons to throw in the towel. 

Now, I dare you to be more resilient whenever things get tough because in life we can’t always choose whether or not we will get knocked down but we can always choose how we will respond every time things fall apart.

Finally, know that true resilience has less to do with what happens to us but a lot to do with how we react to, and recover from whatever we might have to face in life.

Sure-fire Way to Make Your Lagging Intention Real

“Some of our best intentions fail because we don’t have a system of execution.”_Darren Hardy

Everything starts with a thought; the mind is the source of one’s desire to achieve something worthy. An idea happens first in the mind before it can be manifested in its tangible form.

While our desire to want something is a pretty good start; the real challenge lies in whether we take the necessary actions in pursuit of our goal. 

Taking immediate actions on our lofty intentions is necessary because our emotions and feeling don’t remain the same for long; the intensity of our positive desires tends to wane with the passage of time. 

Therefore, unless our mental desire is harmonized with a concrete plan of sustainable actions, it has little merit in a practical world of value. In other words, implementation of intention is the difference maker between reality and fantasy. 

Again, having a burning desire is a necessary first mental step to achievement of any kind but acting on a concrete plan towards its realization is an important practical step to real life outputs.

So, instead of relying on your desire to get you what you want; you need a concrete plan to design specific actions that you must take to make progress toward that desire. 

No matter what we think, desire, dream, want or intends; it is only through taking relevant actions consistently that our lofty aims get crystallized into beneficial, tangible results in the end.

Concrete Plan Insures an Intended Priority

To make real your desired goal, you need to establish a priority; this is the essence of having a concrete plan. 

Having a plan is a potent means to effortlessly maintain focus on what really matters amidst the barrage of thoughts and emergent activities that can throw us off course.  

So make a concrete plan by writing down what you want and the specific actions you need to take, at a specific time of the day, and even at a specific place most suitable for the tasks at hand. 

This is how to give physical life to an invisible intention. It is a simple tactic we can use to protect a cherished desire from an ocean of distractions that can kill it right off the bat.  

Lack of commitment to a concrete plan is the one reason why some of our good imaginations have been nothing more than mere fantasies; our once burning desires are now lagging because of this key reason.

Going forward, please put to use the words of Anthony Robbins, the author of ‘Unlimited Power’ who counsels us with regard to our intention as follows: 

“If you talk about it, it's a dream, if you envision it, it's possible but if you schedule it, it's real.”

Hope you get the message? 

Discipline of execution, which is a matter of acting upon a thoughtful plan, is the real power behind any form of success. 

In finality, we can have any good that we truly desire if we decide to crystallize our dream with a concrete plan, and taking the necessary daily actions to towards its attainment.  

Rising & Thriving Power

Hardiness is a powerful quality to have. People who have it tend to remain nimble no matter what happens to them in life. 

This virtue of resilience enables them to learn from every experience, especially the really painful ones; it helps them to find meaning in any turmoil they may encounter. 

When we meet our share of tribulations in this world, hardiness is what we need to bear the brunt with equanimity; hardiness is the virtue we must embody to recover from any setback. It is all we need to stay strong and thrive after some tragic realities of life. 

To develop true hardiness, unlike the puffy stuff that is being promoted in many self-help circles, we need only two things:

1} Reliance on the Creator of the Universe

We need to remember the absolute truth that nothing in the heavens and the earth can happen without the will of the Almighty God. He, alone created us and everything that exists in the Universe; He alone sustains all things. 

Indeed, the greatest secret of self-reliance is placing reliance on none other than the Creator of the self. God is the ultimate sustainer of all that lives and thrives. No one can be strong except he or she whom God supports and empowers. 

Believe in and reliance on God is the only means to lasting peace in this world and everlasting bliss in the Afterlife. The Islamic Scholar, Ibn al-Qayyim (RA ) writes in his book, Zaad al-Ma’aad that anyone who wants to overcome all difficulties, and then achieve eternal grace of His Lord must frequently recite the following statement of unmitigated truth: 

“There is no power and no strength except with (the help of) God.”

2} Self-Confidence and Faith

After you have properly placed your reliance on God, the next effective thing is to do your own part, starting with a firm belief in your own capacity to persevere. 

When we have strong belief in our capacity to bounce back from setbacks, we increase our chances of survival. With strong belief, we enkindle the necessary confidence to fight our way back to strength and power. 

Without such belief, we can succumb to the first blow of adversity. Without due confidence in our own ability to rise, all the great inspirations that God has sent to our minds will get no translation into tangible results. 

Our faith in God is measured by the mettle we can summon in ourselves. We need to realize that we are more capable than we think. We can take a hit of misfortune and still shine.  We can get to a low point and still rise. We may seem defeated and still win. Therefore, it is wise to always stretch in the direction of faith, optimism, and courage.

In line with the theme of this article, the author of an inspiring book, “Golden Rules for Everyday Life,” Omraam Aïvanhov has some interesting words for us today. He writes:

“For thousands of years the pearl oyster has been there, as a lesson to human beings, but they have never understood it. And what does it teach us? Simply that, if we wrap our difficulties and all the things that annoy us in a soft, luminous, opalescent matter, we will be very rich indeed. This is what you have to understand.

So, from now on, instead of complaining and doing nothing to stop yourself from getting worn down by your difficulties, set to work to secrete this special matter and wrap them up in it. 

Every time you have to put up with a painful situation or somebody you really can’t bear, be glad, and say, ‘Lord God, what luck: another grain of sand, and a potential new pearl.’ 

Omraam sums it all up to you in one powerful sentence:

“If you really understand the example of the pearl oyster, you will have enough work to keep you busy for the rest of your life.”

In conclusion:

Never forget that no matter what your current situation is, you have the innate capacity to overcome any difficulty and achieve your grandest desires. 

You just need to unleash your hardiness through loyalty to the principles of virtues and complete reliance on the Creator that once made you from nothing.

Embracing Deep Thought

“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.”_Henry Ford

Whether you agree with the above quote or not, I hope you can understand the fact that deep thinking is rarely the common practice of the masses. 

In reality, deep thought is the forte of the enlightened cream in any society. 

Deep thought is what generates powerful questions that can lead humankind—both individually and collectively—to breakthroughs in spiritual, business and life predicaments. 

When we embrace deep thinking as a regular practice, we may be surprised to discover that human mind has the capacity to overcome almost any problem.

Therefore, let’s make time to ask ourselves salient questions that can provoke deep thoughts on how to realize our purpose and maximize our potential. 

Ask Essential Questions to Provoke Deep Thoughts

Our ultimate capacity is not limited by the size of our problem but by the strength of our thought. 

If our habitual thinking is profound and deep, our actions and results will be meaningful and significant. 

But if our habitual thinking is shallow and mundane, our actions and results will naturally be average and commonplace. 

All rational beings tend to go in the same direction with their thoughts. 

So, to discover if you are one of the rare few living with a tall and meaningful purpose, examine the nature of your dominant solitary contemplation.

Now I implore you to examine what you habitually think deeply about.

What are you thinking deeply about?

Are you thinking deeply about who you really are?

Are you thinking deeply about why you are here on this planet?

Are you thinking deeply about where you are going in life?

Are you thinking deeply about the consequences of your daily actions?

Are you thinking deeply about your own mortality?

Are you thinking deeply about your legacy?

Are you thinking deeply about eternity and your place within it?

Are you thinking deeply about your Creator and what He expects of you?

If you perceive sense in any of these questions, then…

Now is the high time you carved space out of all the prevalent noise to think deeply about the most essentials questions on life itself.

To Retain Focus on the Big Stuff, Manage the Small Stuff Better

"Out of clutter, find simplicity."_Albert Einstein

If we focus on what really matters on a daily basis, we will massively improve our performance, efficiency and productivity. 

However, to retain that kind of focus, we need to take care of the small things which can interfere with our attention during our high-gear sessions. 

The following three tips will guide you to handle the small stuff better so can free up sufficient mental space to perform the big stuff with exceptionally quality and excellence.

1} If It Can Be Completed in 5 minutes, Get It Out Of the Way: 

Too often, the mental attention we expend at remembering a task is more than the physical effort required to get it out of the way quickly.

When that is the case, instead of holding onto a necessary little task, we should free up mental space by doing the thing right away, especially if it can be completed in less than five minutes.

2} Schedule Time for It:

Now, not all necessary small tasks can be finished quickly in five minutes or less. In such instances, we can make a plan to do them at a later time.

Not only will our focus and functionality improve as a result of this tactic, we will also gain a strong sense of calm that can withstand the stream of daily interruptions which normally derail many people.

More-so, scheduling ahead of time makes the small task a little more significant.

3} Delegate It:

In truth, some things don’t matter at all in our lives. For those kinds of things, I say it is smart to delete them immediately and forget them completely. 

However, certain small stuff needs to get done, though not necessarily by us. So, for those kinds of things, I say we are better off delegating them to someone who can do them well on our behalf.

Finally, if we take care of all the necessary little things in our lives through the above mentioned tips or some other smart tactics; we can create ample space to take care of the big things in our vision with relative ease.