Sculpting Our Coping Muscles

So you haven’t done so well lately in dealing with some difficulties.  Does that mean you’re doomed to never being able to handle things better? Does that mean, “I just don’t have what it takes.”  Sometimes we all feel that way.  But we have ‘handling’ muscles, coping muscles, resiliency muscles that with exercise can be strengthened and thereby better able to help us deal with our hardships.

We are born with our physical muscles that can grow to be defined and sculpted by work- outs with weights and exercises.    In order to get that though we have to put in the effort and work it takes to develop them.

So it is similar with our unseen, internal character muscles.  We must work them so that when we need them to help us navigate and manage our trials and tribulations, we have a strong cushion of support.

It’s so easy to fall into that victim mode.  But in reality we have so much more than we realize: strength, ability, potential and yes, resiliency.

Some exercises to develop and strengthen our internal reservoir:

1. Get to know your character strengths and consciously bring them forth.  Do a daily meditation or mindful preparation of which you will purposefully use today and in what ways.   Are you creative?  How will you put forth your creativity today?  Are you resourceful?  How might you use this today?  You could do this at the end of the day as well, in reflecting back and noting how you used your strengths.
2. If I were 5% stronger in my coping skills I would____________.   Do this sentence completion everyday for at least 21 days filling in 5 endings.  There’s no right or wrong and don’t think about it, just write free flow; no editing.   At the end of the 3 – 4 weeks, read them over and look for any patterns or themes.  Start working on those – to incorporate or get rid of.
3. Of course meditation and gratitude exercises.   Specifically appreciating the good in ourselves (yes, despite and together with our flaws).
4. And of course physical exercise which strengthens the body and therefore does a huge number on strengthening the mind and empowering us all around.

Now go work out.  Tell me what you’re going to do differently and  Just do it!

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope this got you going, at least 1%.  Small change is sustainable and it starts a ripple effect.