Proactive resilience – preparing for winter

It doesn’t feel that many weeks ago that we were writing about how to best use the summer months to build up resilience that may provide the strength, energy and adaptability to face challenges later in the year. Well here we are, with a new found chill in the air, starting to watch the leaves change and reflecting that some of the most challenging parts of the year might be ahead of us. So what can we do to keep building even more resilience to get ready for winter?

Keep developing self understanding

Resilient individuals often have rich understanding and self awareness about how they can renew and recharge simply by knowing what makes them feel good and be themselves. So keep building your own understanding of where your resilience comes from and keep doing the things that deliver it. Resilience comes from having a wide perspective on reality – being able to see reality in all its aspects and accept it as it is, whilst still being curious. Reflection and self understanding helps us see life in this broader way as a foundation for resilience.

Maintain routines

Colder days and bad weather can easily be the reason to retreat indoors and break with routines that enable movement and connection with nature. Make autumn/fall the time to create habits and routines that you can maintain into winter, despite (or even because of) worse weather. 

Develop purposeful relationships

Relationships can be at the heart of our resilience. Feeling connected to others is itself a source of strength and energy and we gain much of our practical support from conversations with and actions of others. As we head into challenging times these support networks are likely to become even more vital. Angela Wilkinson, the General Secretary of the World Energy Council believes that as well as seeking Government response to food and energy crises we should all get better at helping each other. “There’s not just a shortage of community investment. There’s also a shortage of kindness and reciprocity. This is a time for radical generosity in the UK.”  Seeking support and knowing where to find it is a demonstration of resilience and not a sign of weakness as we might sometimes let ourselves feel. 

Keep up the sleep

Sleep is one of the most effective tools we have to increase our resilience. “By getting a good night’s sleep, you learn and process information more efficiently, and you’re able to find a good balance between emotional reaction and careful decision-making. This is how proper sleep can increase your resilience.” (The Sleep Doctor) What’s more it’s free and getting more can even be as simple as making sleep a priority over another box set episode or a bit more scrolling down social media. Self awareness is also vital here. One size does not fit all and knowing how much sleep is right for you as an individual is key. 

Reflect on your passion and purpose

Being able to relate the challenges we face and overcome in life to our wider sense of purpose, whatever that may be can make us much more effective at overcoming negative emotional stimuli and approaching challenges positively. Taking a few minutes each day to think about our wider sense of purpose and why we do what we do, whether that is supporting our families, making a difference, increasing our security or inspiring others, can help us be in charge of our emotions, rather then let them overwhelm us. 

This is a great time of year to reconnect with your vision for the futures, to explore your purpose and meaning and how well you are satisfying your higher purpose. A transformational coach is an invaluable thinking partner when working through aspects of higher self such as these.