Be Resilient and Shine Bright Recently I designed and delivered several training workshops on Resilience. I have been interested in Resilience for many years and was delighted to speak at the National Forum on Resilience at the invitation of President McAleese in January 2010.

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Be Resilient and Shine Bright Recently I designed and delivered several training workshops on Resilience. I have been interested in Resilience for many years and was delighted to speak at the National Forum on Resilience at the invitation of President McAleese in January 2010. My work with Resilience has continued with my coaching practice, by working with clients and focusing on developing Resilience. Throughout my professional life many people have posed the question, “How can you be so resilient?”

My motivation to write this article came from a recent experience in supporting someone else. This prompted me to share my personal experience in order to support others. I previously suffered greatly from stress, which impacted upon me in different ways. There are many strains and pressures in life which affect our ability to cope. Personally, stress impacted my mindset, my physical health and my mental health, which led to some unhelpful behaviours ending up in a vicious cycle. This cycle led to me to feel powerless and to believe I had no control over my life.

I have dedicated a large amount of time to developing myself personally and researching the area of Resilience to benefit others. Everyone experiences stress and pressure in different ways, and I felt compelled to share my definition of Resilience in the hope that others will take action. I hope that this will empower others to take control and have a ripple effect within our society, to create a positive impact.

At the end of the day I believe Resilience is down to personal empowerment and control. You need to discover your inner resource to feel empowered and in control. We all have this inner resource, even if we have only seen glimpses of it within ourselves. How to gain access to this inner resource is unique and individual to each person. This Resilience resource depends on your mindset, experience and ability to change dynamically. Self awareness and self esteem are crucial elements to facilitate this change. To clarify, self esteem is how you perceive yourself and how you believe how others may perceive you.

Sometimes stressful events can knock us off balance and that in turn makes us feel vulnerable. It’s important to seek support from others, but it is also vital that we take personal responsibility to be resilient.

Maintaining Resilience can be done by finding a crucial thread to a positive future. Whatever that crucial thread is, is entirely unique to you. Self belief and faith that you have control over your own destiny are also crucial elements in maintaining Resilience. Your reality is whatever you chose it to be: whether you are a rising star, a rough diamond or a struggling hero – You Are Your Own Success.

Always remind yourself of the small wins. Each and every small win adds up, leading to you getting closer and closer to your desires. Using the sports analogy, each and every yard eventually gets you closer to a goal/try/ touchdown.

Be your own inspiration; create the real and authentic you. Remove the shackles that prevent you from being your genuine self. At the beginning this may seem wishful and it may take time, yet it can and will happen if you remain focused. To become focused is to control your thoughts and your breathing. As yogis say, “By controlling your breathing you can control your thoughts”. By doing this you can and will be able to deal with life’s challenges in a way that feels in control. Once you are in control, you can manage the stress that we all experience in life, that encourages us to grow and expand our mindsets. Focus on being dynamic and on personal growth; doing so will allow you to develop into that authentic creation you desire. You are a shining star: shine bright and let others admire and wonder how you do it.

Remember: Flow with change, the birth of something new is always a bit chaotic

To launch his latest series of resilience workshops, William is offering a free MP3 download to all readers of this article. This MP3 uses NLP and Hypnosis techniques to allow people create subtle changes to their lives. This recording allows people relax and sleep in confidence. To avail of this offer contact william@yellowwood.ie

This blog post is dedicated to my wife for shining bright.