Begin, Again

In the last decade, many places around the world have been hit with some pretty bad natural disasters. Hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and wildfires take their toll on homes and possessions leaving many homeless and without material resources. Economies are in turmoil, leaving a lot of folks wondering about their financial futures. Political upheaval has many living life as refugees far from their homelands. The toll on human life and spirit can sometimes be unbearable.

While it’s natural and certainly understandable to feel devastated for a while in situations like this, some folks bounce back far more quickly than others. Instead of sitting around feeling hopeless and helpless, they will pick themselves up and do whatever it takes to start over again. Instead of dwelling on what they’ve lost and becoming depressed, they will focus their energies on what they still have and what they need to do to recover.

Now, this quality of resiliency, or the ability to take a hit and bounce back, has a lot to do with your overall feelings of self-worth. It also has a lot to do with your belief about whether your life is largely controlled by you, or by forces outside yourself.

People with high self-esteem and an internal sense of control over their lives just naturally bounce back more quickly than those who feel their lives are controlled by some thing or someone “out there.” The question becomes, is the power within us or not? (Hint: The answer should be “within” us.)

It is important for you to know that your thinking is not set in stone, unless you want it to be. Resiliency and esteem are qualities that you can develop in yourself and in your children. You can learn to be so internally strong and resilient, that no personal setback can keep you down for very long.

Disasters can be gut-wrenching, and it may be difficult to see beyond the immediate. By giving ourselves a mindset shift in how we perceive what goes on around us, and within us, we also give ourselves a clean slate in order to begin again, creating a better future.