Greater Than Any Obstacle

Your Ability to Overcome

By Six Figure Real Estate Coach Roberta Ross

Ever think about the fact that you made it through 100% of the toughest things you ever had to go through?  Maybe not always unscathed, and certainly rarely unchanged, but you made it through. That’s resilience at work and character coming through.  When you think about adversity in that way, it offers perspective and makes it a little easier when you hit the next bump in the road.  It’s that resilience and perspective that will take you further in your career and life than those who let all the little things stop them in their tracks.  They are what tell you that nothing lasts, not the good or bad, so instead of worrying about what MAY happen, or fret about a mistake or wrong turn, you can dig down and know that you have the ability to overcome. 

What helps foster that sense of resilience?

1. History proves that you are stronger than you probably think you are. You’ve overcome adversity before, so you can put faith in the fact that you have the skills and will to do it again, and again. 
2. Celebrate the wins. We get more of what we focus on, remember?  So certainly focusing on the wins rather than the failures is a better way to stay mentally strong and invite more success in your life. 
3. Find the lessons. Every adversity carries with it seeds of opportunity. They might be difficult to see in the moment but they are always there.  In fact, in some cases, adversities can create exactly the kind of fundamental change we need to head our lives or careers in a better direction. 
4. Keep your wits – and your wit. Humor is an amazing equalizer and it has tremendous potential to lift the human spirit and change the course of negative emotion. 
5. Consider contribution. When we are service focused, we can have a bad day or a bad moment, but know that there are others relying on us, so we can’t afford, for their sake, to unpack and stay in a space of doubt, fear, uncertainty, anger, or sadness. When we give to others, it takes us out of what we are feeling and puts the attention on the act of service instead.
6. Be kind to yourself as well. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say, “I’m my own worst enemy.” Or “I’m not good enough to accomplish that.”  Phrases like these can become self-fulfilling prophecies.  Speak to yourself in the way you would speak to a friend or favorite colleague. Would you tear them down or build them up?  Be at least as good to yourself as you are to others and remember that sometimes you are doing the best with what you have in the moment – and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Practice the traits of resilience and you’ll find that even when life hands you a curve, you’ll not only handle it with grace, you’ll put that obstacle right underneath your feet and pave the next step in your  life or career with it. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts!  Find me on Facebook or leave a message here and tell me how resilience plays a part in your life.