Jill Fratto: Finding Resilience

By Jill Fratto, Life and Health Coach

Each of us has faced times in our lives when we felt like we could not take one more challenge – cycles of financial difficulty, personal losses, health problems, and relationship struggles are examples of those times.  One bad thing happens, and then another hits us before we have had time to recover or catch our breath.  When the pressure feels like it is more than we can handle and we don’t have the strength to carry on, we must reach for our reserves to pull us through.  Life doesn’t always feel fair, but we all must make the most of our resources and also help each other pull through during difficult times.

When we reflect on our lives, we often remember challenges we have overcome, even to our own amazement.  In those times, we had to reframe or overcome our beliefs about how much we could handle. Once we break through the ideas that we don’t have more to give, we often find a hidden reserve of extra energy and inspiration. We may draw on faith, friendships, exercise, nature, family, or willpower to pull us through.  Whatever the way, every time we overcome an obstacle, we reach a new understanding of our own inner strength.

When we find ourselves in life’s most unforgiving times, we must look within and love ourselves to find the way out. By honoring our feelings versus judging or resisting them, we give ourselves the unconditional love to break through.  Consider accepting the feelings of overwhelm, exhaustion, or fear with the same loving compassion we would an innocent child.  In that way, we can find our way out of our own darkness and perhaps be the light for others when our times are easier.