Embrace The Suck

The daily reality for many involve juggling an ever-increasing amount of complex, high priorities at work while managing the demands of family life. The stressors add up while the sense of fulfillment can easily diminish, along with the energy for the usual challenges and responsibilities of life. Layer onto this those out-of-left-field challenges that knock us off balance.

If we are already running on empty, big life stressors like a family crisis, new job or corporate merger can completely deplete our capacity for even the smallest of challenges, let alone leading a team and running a family.

Now layer onto that our own thoughts, habits and beliefs. Examples include wanting to be the perfect parent, have a beautiful home, be the renowned executive, deliver the perfect presentation, and measure up to the 'Joneses' who seem to have it all, plus all those unique ways we have to beat ourselves up. Let's face it, in many ways we are not our own best allies. And when we're giving our time and energy to everyone else we tend to forgo our own needs for sleep, nourishment and regeneration. We become unkind to ourselves.

Are you able to handle challenges? Or do you find yourself more irritable and reactive and less connected?

The answer depends on your depth of your 'well of resilience' leading up to the crises - and the current commitment you are making to your energy renewal.

I wholeheartedly believe that only focusing on our management of time and stressors is misguided. I believe we will be more fulfilled and better able to sustain optimal performance if we focus on how we manage our energy. All of us have the same amount of time available and stressors are not something we can avoid. However, why do some people seem to thrive regardless of the pressures and others burn out?

How We Manage Our Energy Shapes Our Resilience

You may be wondering, "How do I return to and sustain my energy so I can thrive under pressure and feel I'm operating at my best?" The people that thrive manage their energy in ways that keep their 'wells of resilience' full.

When our energy output exceeds our energy inputs we can become chronically exhausted. This leads to impatience and reactivity, and a lack of energy for work, home and family life. Too exhausted to enjoy our downtime when we have it, we may choose non-regenerative activities (like binge-watching television) and are too worried about our responsibilities to gain a sense of renewed energy.

How Deep is your 'Well of Resilience'?

Our thoughts, behaviors and emotions all have an energy consequence which can be negative or positive, depleting or renewing. Think of resilience as a well. When the going gets tough during your day you tap into your 'well or resilience'. When kids are cranky in the morning, the traffic is slow and you're running late, you tap into this well to handle the stress. And if your 'well of resilience' is deep and full, you quickly return to a sense of calm and clarity as you arrive for your work day. But whether you can do this depends on how you've been maintaining your well - balancing your energy output against replenishing inputs.

What is included in this course?

There are four sections to this course that cover

• The basics of Resilience
• Strengthening Gratitude
• Optimism and why it isn't enough
• Making it make sense with current challenges you may have been avoiding.