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Check On The Strong Ones is a great read by Kayus Fernander who suggests we should check on the…
By: Tooth Truth Roopa Vikesh
Tags: Diversity, Parenting, Pandemic, Resilience, India

Check On The Strong Ones is a great read by Kayus Fernander who suggests we should check on the strong ones even if we’re looking at them in a mirror.

In India we’re judged for being miserable because duh, we have houses, electricity, running water and even machines – like cars and washing machines.

We work hard to keep ourselves out of debt and money positive. We nag at and goad our kids into working harder. We moan over unfinished food, wondering if the kids will ever learn to spend wisely.

We’re insecure about what will happen to them once we aren’t around to take care of their needs, so doesn’t that make us poor? Either way, Kayus’ read about feeling depressed this pandemic, even if you are the strong one in the family, appealed to me, I hope you like it too.
Those of you who read my articles know that I am very much vested in forgiveness.
By: Maria Rattray
Tags: Revenge, Happiness In Life, Resilience, Forgiveness, Moving On

Those of you who read my articles know that I am very much vested in forgiveness. If you want to enjoy internal peace, if you want the sun to shine on you, if you want to free the pain, learn the art of forgiveness.

Think of forgiveness not as something magnanimous, but more as a gift to youself, allowing you to move on.

Nobody would suggest that it’s easy, nor is it about negating any harm done, or about kissing and making up.

But it’s very much about the release of pain, knowing that you have done the right thing.

Forgiving is better for your health, it frees you up to get on with life, which as everyone reminds us, is short enough.

That being the case, why on earth would you polish your anger instead, and feed your ill-health?
A Wall
By: Lennie Varvarides
Tags: First Draft, Poets On Medium, Self-awareness, Resilience, Poetry

A poem about resilience in our community.

Made of concrete with the Will of iron,

Stands in the distance

Self-sufficient -a proud wall.

Not a Walled Garden, or a graffitied with feeling wall.

This wall is icy instead.

Stingy with its concentration.

Nothing grows here.

Not yet. Not beside it.

Or around it. Or up it.

Not yet.

No messy ivy to curse or pull.

This wall is functional.

Consistently keeping out the seasons.

Reliable in this fashion.

Unbreakable, no matter how hard one kick.

This wall is a rock.

Not a gem. Human made instead with the spirit of defiance.

Domestic. Committed to standing. Undivided in its divine destiny.

This time, the paper padding is replaced, but the words are still the same. This wall will not fall.

Or bend. Or crumble with the wind.

Here, a child can lean its back against the gravel, content to rest a while.
On Offices: Creative Urban Resilience during Work from Home
By: Islam, Sam
Tags: Planning, Covid 19, Resilience, Office, Urbanism

Whether going back to the office entirely is an option or not, there is empty space that can be utilized to cut down on the ongoing overhead costs for companies and solve some of the city’s resilience issues.

Almost a year into the pandemic, one can see how the need for office space has “changed” to say the least. Some work entirely from home, while only a handful still go to the office regularly, but yet again with restrictions. These observations suggest an increasing vacancy rate as workspaces have been moving away from offices.

Contrary to this anecdotal evidence, data and insights from Brookfield, global owner-operator of Class A offices, show that businesses are expanding their office space. This expansion in office space can be attributed to short-term solutions ensuring social distancing within the office, or long-term strategies for future expansion and return to “life before the pandemic”.

In fact, the industry is calling for innovative approaches to provide purpose and comfort in the offices, or what has been called “hotelification”; an approach where office design is treated like airport lounges. This entails providing space to host a percentage of the full workforce capacity, while offering more amenities that are not provided otherwise in a work-from-home setting.

Regardless of the fact that people could return to the office some day, statistics reveal that 55% of businesses globally offer a working from home option. This leaves space, at least temporarily, for other uses that could solve some of our urban problems and work towards resilience.
The Solitude of Thinking: A Villanelle
By: Mark Valentine
Tags: Thinking, Covid 19, Solitude, Resilience, Poetry

The Solitude of Thinking: A Villanelle

Interlocutor: “What are you going to do living all by yourself in a pandemic?”

Me: “Think about things.”

Interlocutor: “You’ve had your whole life to think about things.”

-----

My thinking does not always get things right.

And more, it does not mean I will do things.

My best lies in doing the things in sight.

I doubt I could think my way out of fright.

Nor could I find the joy that thinking brings.

My thinking does not always get things right.

Sometimes I find I think long through the night.

The quiet in my ears just sings and rings.

My best lies in doing the things in sight.

Do you wonder why I want to take flight?

I wish to throw my thoughts with a strong fling.

My thinking does not always get things right.

One thing I can see from the highest height

Regardless if I have the voice to sing--

My best lies in doing the things in sight.

I want to act my way to feeling right,

From feeling right, my thinking changes things.

My thinking does not always get things right.

My best lies in doing the things in sight.
I’m Alright This Christmas
By: Joe Fuller
Tags: Relationships, Parental Love, Unexpected, Resilience, Acceptance

The boy I raised.

Like a son. He went to live with his pill head, racist grandfather.

The boy still calls him PaPa. The boy’s granny calls PaPa, “Snake.”

She otta know. She lived with the bigot 13 years before she escaped, around the time I met her, she was working in a coffee shop, her kids were little, her smile sweet.

The cutest woman I ever saw.

I sent her flowers.

We got along.

Her ex stalked us and invented reasons to take us to court.

Pathological liar.

Sociopath

Still.

Hates Black people

Still.

The only man I have ever wanted to see dead.

Still, I laughed when Granny told me, “He’s living in a Winnebago on Snake’s property.”

I laughed and said, “He’s gonna be PaPa’s drug mule?”

I hope not.

The boy’s heart is good

But he’s 16 and has no

sense.

Still, the boy sent me a text this morning. It said, “Merry Christmas Joe. If you need anything, let me know. I gotcha. I love you.”

Like I said, he has no sense.

Still, all in all…

I’m alright this Christmas.
Trust
By: Veda Prajvalan
Tags: Affirmations, Resilience, Blessing In Disguise, Inner Dialogue, Trust

Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly. — Proverb Nothing is ever as it seems. What looks bad today, can be a blessing tomorrow. — Iyanla Vanzant

Perhaps the most valuable part of going through so many radical changes has been the development of trust. Trust in myself, my worth and resilience, and trust that in the process of life itself things work out for the best in the end.

In the end, everything will be okay. If it’s not okay, it’s not yet the end. — Fernando Sabino

It’s the darkest and most trying times that have given the biggest breakthroughs. Similar to a plane taking off, the greater the resistance being faced, the higher the lift. Transitions from the known and familiar, into change and the unknown can still be very uncomfortable, nevertheless. While navigating them, if one is resistant and dwells too much in the past they often experience anger or depression. And if the focus is too far ahead into the future, anxiety can become a problem. Either one, unaddressed, can manifest as health conditions. But consciously choosing your focus and internal dialogue, with regular practices and tools (such as affirmations and breathwork) to ground and center in the present moment, can maintain peace of mind, protect health and foster internal trust and resilience.
What do I see when I look at YOU?
By: Joost Joseph Nauta
Tags: New Years Resolutions, Self-awareness, Inspiration, Resilience, Self Improvement

He was raised with the idea he would not get older than five years. Entrepreneur coach and motivational speaker lived life against all odds and succeeded.
Appalling & true.
By: Laura Federico
Tags: Social Change, Pandemic Diaries, Pandemic, Resilience, Government

Appalling & true. The lack of compassion is what will be remembered from this pandemic. People are trying to be good to each other right now but we are being wholly unsupported by those we’ve elected in ways that should be unimaginable in a crisis.

Somehow our system of government has become so poisoned that it thinks it owes us nothing — not even our own tax dollars as relief aid when we’re hungry & sick & dying. And a good chunk of our population has been so brainwashed (literally, I believe) by right wing media that it, too, thinks government owes us nothing. That we should be ashamed to get “handouts.” As if our public servants (a term I prefer to “leader”) aren’t drawing a paycheck consisting of OUR tax dollars. And only ours, since it’s now perfectly permissible for rich people, including the President, to help themselves to tax revenue they haven’t contributed to themselves.

If we don’t have energy for one another right now, it’s because we’re drawing on every drop of purposefulness and resiliency to get through these days. But it’s good to find out we have those qualities in greater measure than we’ve known. At least that’s one of my revelations in 2020. Now my hope is that we start using them to create outcomes WE want, instead of enduring whatever hell has been visited upon us by our government.

Right now we’re forced to play defense with the virus, which really is in charge whether we like it or not. Even if we started behaving in much more sane & cooperative ways, we’re still going to be in defense mode for the next year or so. But we can start thinking now about what our game of offense should look like.

This pandemic has been the mother of all karmic lessons. If we don’t use it as a turning point, we have to ask ourselves, what WOULD it take to be willing to change? —or are we capable of change at all?
Saving Aston Martin
By: Pete Weishaupt
Tags: Success, Automotive, Mindset, Entrepreneurship, Resilience

Aston Martin DB5. Three words guaranteed to make your heart beat faster.

There's a 99.9% chance you first discovered the Aston Martin DB5 through Ian Fleming's James Bond. What else would a cunning, skillful, and sophisticated Intelligence Officer drive?

Just 1,021 examples of the DB5 were built between 1963 and 1965. Of those, only 123 were Convertibles. Rarest of the rare though, are the 39 left hand drive Convertibles.

Rarer still is chassis number DB5C/1278/L with engine number 400/4711/VC. The Vantage engine features three legendary Weber carburetors, renowned for delivering top-end performance. 65 DB5 Coupes and 12 Convertibles were built with the Vantage engine.

You probably appreciate the rarity of DB5 Convertible with the Vantage engine, but wonder the significance of chassis DB5C/1278/L?

This particular 1964 DB5 Convertible was owned by American businessman Peter Sprague, savior of Aston Martin Lagonda.

After Christmas, 1974 workers at Aston Martin Lagonda went back to work; only to find the doors locked.

The company was pronounced bankrupt and the creditors were in control. This didn't sit right with Sprague. His wife, tired of his angst, challenged him to do something about it. Thankfully, he did.

The story gets even better. This historically significant Aston Martin DB5 is currently on the market. Contact Gullwing Motorcars.
Life Map
By: Shiela Cancino
Tags: Bounce Forward, Covid 19, Shiela Cancino, Resilience

I help Asian Women Expats to step up in career without sacrificing “me time” all the time by strengths discovery. bit.ly/AsianWomenExpats
Il 2021 che vorrei.
By: Alessio Alberini
Tags: Sustainability, Creativity, Storytelling, Resilience, Design Thinking

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
5 Steps to become more productive
By: Debora Cabral
Tags: Dreams, Productivity, Resilience, Goals, Startup

5 Steps to become more productive

Become a productive person is totally what everybody wants when we think about cath up our goals, so why is so difficult to keep our ritm and continue with ourselves purpose?

According to the american magazine Psychology Today, be productive depend of a mix of other reasons besides only be productive, depend for example motivation, personality, training or education, or also support from others. But also can get easier if you have every routine like Exercise, healthy eating, and sufficient sleep can boost efficiency both in the short- and long-term.

Now let’s read about five things that everybody can make to become more productive!!!

1 JUST REFLECT

When we stop to reflect about ourselves, quickly our mind can work better, then you have got a chance to explore your own, and start a new project, it’s simple, you stop for a minute just to put on order your life and being more organized.

Now think about a lot of parts of your life that you can work, like read a book, planing a trip, start learning a new language, and so on.

2MAKING A PLAN

If you wanna catch your goals, you have definitely make a plan, you can make a calendar, establish rules, and is so important that you imagine the end of the road.

Start planning your week, and get ready in the days that you know will more busy than other days, making this you will have not reasons for negligence yourself steps until arriving where you want. Imagine how is so good the day that you finally will finish and make all according to which did you planning.

Start changing your daily routine, add perseverance, and no stop to make all as possible to make your dream happen.

3 BE ON TIME

Now you know that you have firstly making a plan, now is time to be on time.

If you established a goal that you have do all in a certain time you have to make all as possible to this thing be made at the right time because this is the key to you have not to procrastinate and not become a problem to your other activities.

Don’t let your mind make you think that tomorrow you certainly will do all because believe… If not today, tomorrow also will not.

4 CREATE REWARDS

When we think that to do something come us a lot of good feelings, we certainly will make this with more focus. I mean, you can make recompense for yourself to keep your purpose more interesting.

Imagine that on the weekend you will just enjoy it because you had done all before. Will have no blame while you are funning, you have to enjoy your day and forget about goals, stay just in your own, so you will be recovered to a new week, it’s basically about how you feel on the weekend when you have no to work. No stress, LOL.

5DON’T STOP

Don’t stop is what will give you happiness ’cause finally you done it becomes real and not just a dream. Never stop, keep in focus, and don’t let the bad things and boring things of your life prevent you and create barriers between you and your goals.

If you like his text, please clap and follow me on Instagram → DEBORACABRAL
This Year Broke Us... So, Why Should We Be Hopeful?
By: Natalie Ruiz
Tags: Powerful Women, Women In Business, Leadership, 2020, Resilience

This Year Broke Us... So, Why Should We Be Hopeful?

Photo by Levi Bare

Many of us have been broken by this year. The magnitude of loss that’s been suffered is hard to articulate.



As individuals, families, organizations, and as a society — we will never be the same.



My heart has shattered over and over for people I love dearly and people I’ve never met. The collective grief that we’re experiencing is real and will be long lasting.



I was thinking about a panel I spoke on last year — which feels like an entire lifetime ago — about Setbacks and Comebacks. My fellow panelists and I talked about some of our most trying times and how we grew through them.

The common thread from the panelists and from the audience was that each of our setbacks helped us to grow and become more resolute in our passions and endeavors. We weren’t defined by our setbacks, but we were clarified by the overcoming of them.



Reflecting on this year, I am confident that the stories of comebacks we will hear will be epic. I’m excited to see those who have faced so much rise to new heights.



There is a Japanese practice of repairing broken pottery with gold or silver called Kintsugi. When a piece of pottery breaks, the pieces are put back together. By fusing the broken pieces with gold or silver, the cracks make the repaired piece even more beautiful than the original.

If this isn’t a metaphor to live by, I don’t know what is.



When it comes to thriving in life, there’s no substitute for resilience and tenacity. We grow stronger by facing the hard things, learn what we are made of when things go terribly wrong, and I firmly believe that we will be better humans after surviving all that this year has presented.

In case you need to hear this today: you’re doing great. You’re stronger than you think you are. You are beautiful — even MORE amazing because of the places you’ve broken and come back together.
Imagining My Family’s Way Through the Pandemic
By: Katy Friedman Miller
Tags: Parenting, Hope, This Is Us, Resilience, Imagination

Once upon a time, I was a young mom, living with my young children, my husband, a dog, two cats, and a lizard. My family lived in a small brick house on a small brick street. Our neighborhood nestled under the arm of St. Michael’s Parish. I watched my red-headed son growing bigger, with his preternatural inclination to language, fierce temper, and the need for the world to be just and fair. And then there was my daughter… a stubborn young child, with an energetic streak of mischief and physicality and a watchful, sometimes suspicious, eye on the world around her.

Like my own mom, I have a good imagination and a love of stories. I pretended many things both for the kids and myself when they were little. I pretended the muppet, Grover, lived in the upstairs closet. When it snowed, I pretended that we lived on the prairie in the 1890s, just like Laura Ingalls and her family. When I shoveled the snow on the sidewalk in January, I told the kids that this was the path leading Pa home from hunting bears.

Once, at Christmastime, Hedwig from Harry Potter delivered “owl mail” down the chimney from Professor Dumbledore, personally inviting them to the Hogwarts world. I hoped to make childhood enchanting and magical for them (but maybe also for me).

My daughter cooperated and sometimes enjoyed the pretend, but she also had a burning and innate need for “the truth.” When she was six years old, she followed me around the house asking, “Is Santa real? Is Santa real? Is Santa really, really real?” She asked again and again for over an hour.

I felt torn. I tried to find good, reassuring motherly things to say, like “What do you think?” Or, “Santa’s magic is not just about a big man in a red suit. It’s about finding joy and generosity.”

These responses were not enough for my truth-seeker. “But I want to know if he is alive.”

I sighed, looking down at her small, determined face. “Sometimes kids think they want to know things, but they don’t really want to know them. What do you think you want?”

“I really want to know if he is alive and real.”

My heart hurt a little. I didn’t know what to do. What if childhood lost something important and special for her? “He is not alive,” I said.

“Okay,” she replied in her stubborn, matter-of-fact way. “I thought so.”

Yet, she seemed okay after that—still the same spirited child she’d always been. And I continued to share stories with them, continued to try to imbue the atmosphere of childhood with possibility. But, just like the characters in my beloved stories, there were unseen forces at work. Parts of the story we’re not privy to.

I had to face a great fear for parents: telling their kids a bad and frightening thing.

In the story of my young family, there was a time when imagination and truth became confused with lies. When hope and illusion became muddled in fog. A time when I couldn’t tell the difference between a wolf and a grandmother.

“My, what big teeth you have,” said Little Red Riding Hood. But Little Red Riding Hood was me.
You Can Now (Literally) Camp In The Best Airport In The World
By: Agnes Louis
Tags: Strength, Life Lessons, The Bad Influence, Resilience, Self Improvement

COVID 19 has hit a lot of sectors hard this year.

A lot of businesses, especially the smaller ones, were forced to admit defeat and close down due to their inability to cope with the situation brought about by the pandemic.

The aviation industry is one of many mammoth industries taking a massive blow.

Lockdowns, borders closing, travel restrictions have forced the transport industry to take drastic measures to keep the business afloat.

The aircrafts and travel industry are not the only ones suffering this year.

Airports and every single business inside them are also struggling.

With not many passengers going out and about in the world, who would go to spend some time at the airport?

Granted, there are people like me, who actually enjoy being at the airport (especially if the airport is nice and comfortable — Changi and Doha International Airport are two of the best airports I’ve ever spent long transit hours in).

There are actually a lot of things you can do at the airport.

You can people-watch, read, write, shop, and eat at the airport. If you’re super lucky, you might even make a friend or two — (a) fellow wanderer(s).

But tell people you’re going to the airport to do just that, they’ll think you’ve lost your mind.

I digress.

An airport as massive and as beautiful as Changi though, I can only imagine the cost of the upkeep.

It must be sky-high.

As it stands, I have already heard many stories of people getting laid off and retrench in new sectors. Air stewardesses who are now nurses and social distancing ambassadors (yes we have them here — they remind everyone to wear masks and stand 1 metre apart). Pilots who are now bus and Grab (something like Uber) drivers.

Even with all this cost-cutting, the airport would still need some traffic.

What does it do?

Adapt.
Pushing Towards the Sun
By: Ren Powell - Mad Orphan Lit.
Tags: Solstice, Light Therapy, Yoga, Resilience, Sad

S.A.D. at the time of the Winter Solstice

Photo: Ren Powell

I’ve been struggling with inflammation and the overall discomfort that brings. But we did a Sunday run anyway. I need it most when I want it least. It rained. I actually can’t remember the last time I went outside and it was not raining. Everything is on the edge of freezing, and at two-thirty in the afternoon the sun was already touching the horizon. It made the afternoon even softer, but melancholy as a good mourning.

At 11:02 we Northerners tilt on our axis: leaning into a new half-year of leaning towards the sun. I am ready. I am pushing it. I’ve pulled the little goLITE out of the drawer.

I should have done it weeks ago as a preventative measure, before my body swelled with melancholy and cold, softening inelegantly in the darkness like something giving in, waiting passively to be reconstituted, reconstructed.

This morning I stretch through warrior positions and feel an internal resistance with every move. After a crying jag, the skin around my eyes feel swollen and vulnerable — today my whole body feels this way.

Even though the days will be getting longer, that fact will be imperceptible until March. Maybe it will be because Christmas lights were taken down in romjul, because the sky exploded in light and color on New Year's Eve, and New Years Day was predictably anti-climatic.

New years are as difficult as colicky infants. Expectations are almost inevitable and weigh heavily on short days. But we’ve stepped in it and there’s no turning back, no option to avoid the follow-through.

Push on.
When I Woke This Morning
By: Deborah Krulicki
Tags: Hope, Life Lessons, Perseverance, Resilience, Reflections

When I Woke This Morning

Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash

When I woke this morning

I didn’t want to…Because

Sometimes I awaken with

The capacity for four problems

On a day that will have eighteen

Bed feels so much better

Than the coming day

But I have to feed the cat

Because she is relentless

About eating and I put one

Foot out upon the cold floor

To stop the cat from caterwauling

And start the day, albeit

Unwillingly

On a day like this, I eat breakfast

Then, I make time to lay down

To be still and wait briefly for whatever

Arrives, today it was a memory

Of my neighbour across the street

The day his jack broke and the car fell

As he worked beneath it

He was elderly and calling for help

I am not very large or very strong

Neither was the woman working

Beside me in her garden, we just ran

Without thinking across the street

He was struggling and scared

There was only one thing to do

We both reached beneath the car

I said, “on three” and began to count

Together, we somehow raised the

Car just enough that he was able

To slide from beneath the vehicle

He was shaken, scared and

Had two broken ribs

My neighbour said…I didn’t think

We could do it: I still don’t know how

We did or why on this particular day

That old story found me while I was

Just being still and waiting for an answer

It came to me and I said, Hello courage!

I rose from my twenty minutes of

Stillness and left the story behind

I hung on to the memory of courage

I went to wake my still sleeping guy

Hoping his symptoms would be

Minimal today…then I will start with

Number one of those eighteen items

Which I couldn’t possibly complete

And that will be fine
There Is Always Hope And The Chance Of A New Perspective.
Tags: Christmas, Storytelling, Happiness, Resilience, Mindfulness

Tonight on December 21st is going to be the darkest night of the year. At the same time we will observe winter solstice, when the days begin to become longer.

Photo by Johannes Groll on Unsplash

Christmas time is fairy tale time. The advent lights penetrate the darkness and give us light, warmth and hope. The hope that current challenges will be conquered and a better world will meet us and our loved ones one morning. The hope is essential to overcome dark times and to remain resilient.

The fairy tales are very traditional in every culture and build bridges between folklore and the better future. Wise people have captured this folk tales to easily teach children in believing in the goodness of people, in positive spirit and in ability to write their own stories. This fairy stories have been handed down from generation to generation ensuring transmission of values and building of foundation for resilience in challenging times.

Maybe it is the reason for desire for fairy tales and the Christmas miracle at this time. Every child, every man or woman has dreams and hope for a better life. Christmas is the best time of the year just to forget what went wrong and reset. There is the magic moment in place where everyone can become a prince or a princess, a hero or a heroine, a magician, a good fairy or whoever you want to be. Then a Christmas miracle will happen.

The traditional fairy tales tell success stories and possible ways of how to reach it. Just to underline some of shared success factors: be human, help others, follow your heart, be pro-active, gain friends, challenge yourself and make your environment a better place. So you will get opportunity for personal growth and will become more resilient for the next period of life.

This personal development process is going to continue with New Year wishes and resolutions. You can define your personal action plan for success and happiness, so that your dreams and wishes will become reality.

What ist you favorite fairy tale? Read it one more time and dot’t miss the opportunity to dream, to hope, to trust. And maybe write your own story.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!
Break out of a slump: What 14 years of struggle has taught me
By: Doc Jay
Tags: Scheduling, Life Lessons, Resilience, Goals, Struggle

Break out of a slump: What 14 years of struggle has taught me

Photo by John Salvino on Unsplash

I’m knee-deep in a slump. I’m grappling with my writing process, and I just can’t break free. I looked in my past to find the tools to overcome. Over 14 years of struggle, I’ve learned a thing or two about resilience.

“The best way out is always through.” Robert Frost

I struggle with my goals just like you. My struggle bus is as yellow as the rest of them. But, I have struggled since 2006. My nickname is resilience.

What’s weird is I have been writing a reasonable amount. I left my pieces incomplete and unpublished.

For example, I binged on writing about financial health. One piece was about financial literacy and whether it is a cure for poverty. Another blog discussed capitalism and race. Both articles lay dormant in an unpublished state.
You CAN (& will) Shift: Lessons from this “Day of Darkness”
By: Kristen Fragnoli
Tags: Solstice, Growth, Personal Development, Resilience, Leadership Coaching

You CAN (& will) Shift: Lessons from this “Day of Darkness”

Lessons from the darkest day

You’re probably aware that today is the Winter Solstice — the night with the longest stretch of darkness of the year. (Here in the Northern Hemisphere that is…) Starting tomorrow the days will slowly but surely begin to get longer — each day we will gain just a wee bit more light in our days.

At the beginning it will feel like it hasn’t changed. According to sunrise-sunset.org, the difference between December 21 and December 22 in Canandaigua, NY is just 6 seconds. Hardly something to cheer about right?

But then the next day it changes by 12 seconds, then 15, then 21…

Slow incremental change building the trajectory toward June 21, the longest day we call Summer Solstice.

There are a lot of lessons in this day.

There is power in small, consistent change — so much so that it has the capacity to change the seasons — in nature and in life.

The light returns just at the very darkest moment and then, seemingly like a miracle, we are “coming out the other side” of darkness or difficulty.

The “predictable” cycles that we all seem to go through can help us embrace the vibrant, dynamic and moving moments of our lives.

The question I have for you is — How can you apply these lessons, today, to the challenges you’re facing, or the change you’re hoping to make?

What small, consistent change can you make to move toward a new season? I’m working with someone now who is practicing small changes in her communication and it’s creating significant positive shifts in her relationships.

Where can you see the light coming in during this time of darkness? Counting blessings, practicing hope, and finding silver linings is supporting another client in feeling in charge of her own experiences each day — of being the leader of her life by choosing to see and be the “light” each day.

Where can the predictable cycles of life help you mindfully embrace the beauty of a moment? A leader who is completing year end reviews has decided to find and articulate the quirky HUMAN characteristics that he loves about each of his team members — regardless of “performance” feedback; it is helping them connect on a whole new level.

On this “day of darkness,” I invite you to settle in and consider the lessons it offers. Tonight, after the sun goes down at 4:38:36 pm, wrap yourself in a blanket, pour a hot drink, light a candle and think about what you want life to look like on June 21, 2021. Write it down, and start making those small shifts to create the new season you hope for.

If you want support making a shift, getting through a moment of darkness, or revamping the cycles of your life and work so you can LIVE and LEAD with vitality and resilience, Kristen would love to connect on a free discovery call.
How to Conclude 2020
By: Tomi Oyegoke
Tags: Christmas, Life Lessons, Resilience, Covid Diaries, 2021

Celebrating Life

Photo by JESHOOTS.com from Unsplash

Christmas is here and its time to usher in the new year! I am honestly just looking forward to not working and taking a break. However, this season is more than that. It is a time to remember and celebrate the gift we received through Jesus. I am refocusing my mind so I don’t downplay the season and the reason for the season.

Also, the new year may not seem new especially if the effects of the pandemic persist. However, you and I can make the new year novel. By having a different attitude, focusing on achievable goals, and planning for consistency in well doing, you and I can experience the euphoria of the new year!

How should you conclude this year?

Celebrate: celebrate the season, celebrate life, provision, health, and whatever else you can think of. Plan to dance, cook, eat great food, and spend quality time with the family members you are confined with. Celebrate your resilence. Even if you feel like the year could have been better, you are still here. Still celebrate! Reflect: think on the things you accomplished. You navigated a global pandemic and you should be proud! Things that you may think are insignificant are not. Whatever positive thing you accomplished deserves recognition. Look beyond the goals you intended to achieve. Reflect on lessons learned, relationships built, and changes made. Sometimes, your best is unplanned. Rest: watch movies, nap, and chill. I don’t think you should alter your schedule completely so it’s not too difficult to kick start your routine in January. But, I do advocate for you to rest your mind and take things easy. Rest your mind, body, and feed your soul. Do things you love. Plan: plan to have a fabulous 2021! It’s all in your head and attitude! You have learned to deal with unknowns, prohibitions, world panic, and restrictions! You can certainly cope in varying circumstances as long as you have the right mindset. Plan to achieve reasonable goals and plan to enjoy 2021, no matter what gets thrown at you. You will survive, thrive, and overcome with the right mindset that trusts in God.

Plan to be grateful and continue developing this healthy trait!

2020 has been a great year for me on Medium. I will be signing off for the year with this post. I do appreciate feedback so if you have any comments or content you would like to see, please let me know.

Thank you for reading and clapping throughout 2020. More to come in 2021! I appreciate you!

Salut!
Your Bride in Reverse 2020 Holiday Survival Guide 😃
By: Becca Bycott
Tags: Gratitude, Self, Divorce, Resilience, Holidays

Photo by Jeremiah Lawrence on Unsplash

As most of you know, my philosophy is when the going gets tough, the tough get creative and resilient, and ultimately pull themselves out of the hell they’re in.

And this, my friends, is exactly how I’m approaching the holiday season.

I managed to fly home and spend two weeks with my family over Thanksgiving. It was lovely and life-giving, and it made up for not having spent any time with them for almost a year.

But now … sigh. Hunkering down for Christmas as coronavirus cases spike and doing the holiday season on my own! Staying put and hopefully staying safe and keeping everyone else, safe. too.

Not sure you’re in the same boat, but regardless, some resources I’ve written to provide some support and inspiration:

’Tis the season to miss our friends and loved ones — with a pandemic, many of us are opting to skip travel this year and stay at home rather than spend the holidays with them. This is all well and good if you’ve got a partner or a cool roommate, maybe some kids. But if you live by yourself, you may be worried about how you will make it through what will feel like a more silent night than usual. Read all about it in Flying Solo (and Socially Distanced) on Christmas Eve? I Got You, my latest post on Medium.

It’s that time of year when I get cards featuring photos of my friends and family and their adorable children in the mail. I put all the cards on my fridge and then look down at my cat, Matilda, the closest thing I have to a child. A furry child who tears up my furniture with her tiny claws, lovingly butts her head against my arm, and could care less if I put up my Christmas decorations or not. Feeling the same? Find more sympathy in It’s Okay if You Hate the Holidays a Little Bit.

Finally, I’ve rebooted my life more times than I can count — the death of a parent when I was in high school, unexpected job loss, financial uncertainty, an unfortunate marriage and ugly divorce that included my friend hooking up with my ex. It was horrible when all these things happened. But in a way, I’m thankful for these experiences because they taught me a lot about how resilience is more than being introspective and focusing only on yourself. You have to look outward, be generous and practice gratitude every damn day. Get your resilience and gratitude going in full force by reading Surviving Bad Times is About Thinking Beyond Your Own Life.

No matter how you’re celebrating (or not), grateful for each and every one of you, and determined to make good things happen as we reach the end of this shitty year and head into the next one.

Wishing you your hearts’ truest happiness, always,
IO You
By: Joshua Lerner
Tags: Strength, Life Lessons, Resilience, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine

An intraosseous (IO) Line being drilled into the proximal tibia. An IO line is a fast and easy way to establish access so that medications and fluids can be administered, particularly when intravenous (IV) access is difficult. [picture is not patient in story]

This is going to hurt.

But if two ER nurses furiously working on each of your tiny arms cannot establish IV access, it is necessary. If they cannot get an IV in you, then no one can. And there is no more time.

Your tiny shin is my target because the bone is so close. I grip your ankle with as gentle a firmness as possible, while a nurse holds your knee. This is going to hurt. The first piercing scream comes as my needle punctures your skin and drives into the bone.

A nurse brushes your hair to reassure you as I tell myself how necessary this is. Your cries quickly drown out the harsh mechanical sound of the drill. You need this intraosseous (IO) line. I keep telling myself that as you cry. But doubt enters my mind as your loud screams provide a conflicting reassurance. Maybe we could have waited for another IV attempt. Maybe we would have intravenous access to give you the medications you need in one more try or one more minute. But maybe not. And I will not take that risk with your life. I will not allow my fear or inaction to cause you harm. Please forgive me, but I owe you everything I can do. And I can do this. So I am sorry that my decision caused so much pain.

We are taught that a flush of lidocaine will anesthetize the bone once the line is in, but in the midst of a critical situation no one ever remembers to pull a vial. So the next screams come as we begin to give you treatments through the needle now in your bone. Treatments that are so basic — just sugar and water — referring to them as medications seems overstated and the use of an IO line seems excessive. I recoil as your screams get louder. But that is good. The treatment is working.

You are more awake now and this gives me the opportunity to step back from the moment — to be human rather than physician. You remind me of my daughter. Your hair looks like hers and in an instant, perhaps in an attempt to find peace, I think of her. But that connection immediately causes me to cringe — could I have done that to my own child? Could anyone?

Sucking your thumb and able to make a few tears now, you look so much better than just a minute ago even if you are still scared. Even if you did experience such pain because of me. I share the burden of my decisions with you. So if your brave and strong little 20 pound body can handle the fear and pain of what I just did, then so too can I.

I owe you that.
The King, the Spider, the Internet, and the Pandemic
By: Gayathri Vishwanathan
Tags: Covid 19, Resilience

When I was a kid, my father had told me a story of a powerful king who faced defeat from his enemies and hid in a cave. While the king was sulking in the cave, he saw a spider trying to build a web. The spider failed multiple times, but it did not give up. Eventually, after multiple attempts, the spider weaved a beautiful web. The tiny spider inspired the king and he went out to fight the enemies — this time with a resolve to not give up. He won the battle finally.

My father narrated this story to encourage me to give maths another try (I sucked at it). I warmed up to maths and somehow managed to score decent marks in my 10th boards.

I was reminded of this story again when I saw how we have displayed resilience during this pandemic.

People tend to blame the Internet, smartphone, social media for so many reasons. But this same smartphone, internet, and social media proved to be a boon for many people.

Here are some examples of how people showed resiliency.

I saw so many people unleash their creativity — some baked, some rediscovered their lost love for painting, some started writing regular blogs and shooting vlogs. People started to showcase their hidden talent on social media.

I am a part of several support groups, they give me clarity on many things that perhaps my family or friends may not understand or resonate with. Caregiver Saathi and Hugging Club of India ensured that we don’t feel lonely or disconnected due to social distancing. Bhavana Issar and Umang Seth conducted many webinars during this period on caregiving and mental health respectively. Their relentless efforts have kept people going through the pandemic.

Friends reconnected through Zoom. My friend told me how her mom’s friends arranged a video call to wish her mom on her birthday and how she was over the moon. On a normal day, this may have not happened because we are so caught up with our daily routine that we forget to connect with our friends and family. Although people blame Zoom, it has played a huge role in reconnecting people.

WhatsApp and Social media gave rise to budding entrepreneurs. My best friend Aditi started her business during the pandemic. She learned to use tools like Canva and got herself a WhatsApp business number and started to promote her online classes and other products that she is selling. Within a few months, she started to get leads.

Online classes such as online yoga classes, online cooking classes, online drawing classes have helped people develop new skills without going anywhere.

Yes, many people lost their income in this pandemic. Yes, so many of us lost our loved ones at this time. Mental health has taken a hit. But, good things have happened too. Let’s acknowledge it and continue to be resilient for years to come. Resilience is what makes us human.
The Hidden Blessing in the Turmoil
By: Bianca Zagan
Tags: Sufi, Thoughts, Life Lessons, Resilience, Self Improvement

THOUGHTS

The Hidden Blessing in the Turmoil

@siphotography on Shotzr

I heard this Sufi story several times until now, most recently in a video with Srikumar Rao, and I thought it’s a wonderful metaphor to help us change perspective over our life in the pandemic.

The story goes like this: ‘There was a man whose only horse ran away. His neighbors came to pity him: “Poor you, how will you work the fields now? What a bad luck!” And the man replied, “Good thing, bad thing, who knows?”

Shortly after, the man’s son finds another horse roaming free, and brings it home. Immediately, the neighbors cheered “Oh, how lucky of you to find a new horse, and pay nothing for it!”, to which the farmer again says: “Good thing, bad thing, who knows?”

While trying to tame the horse, the boy falls down on the ground and breaks one leg. Now the neighbors were saying, “Oh, you unfortunate man! You have just one son and this one cannot help you work the fields!… Such bad luck!”

The man still said, “Good thing, bad thing, who knows?”

Then, a war broke out and young men had to enroll in the army and leave to fight. But this man’s son couldn’t go, because he had a broken leg. The neighbors again came, “Oh, you fortunate man! You get to keep your son at home! We don’t know if we will ever see our children alive”…
Neden Bir Mimarlık Dergisi Drone Belgeseli Yapar?
By: Melisa Altınsoy
Tags: Smart Cities, Drones, Resilience, Architecture

Experimental Engineer. Data Scientist @Deloitte, Alumni @AccuratStudio. Focus on transforming chaotic signals to knowledge which creates value for society.
Get uncomfortable
By: Terence Tam
Tags: Fishing, Resilience, Stoicism, Camping, Growth Mindset

I went down 3 hours from Sydney to Jervis Bay for a bucks trip. The idea was to camp in the area and go fishing. We had set up the tents and camp just in time before the rain set in for the next 24 hours.

We brought two utes worth of camping gear. And had lugged food, fishing gear and supplies to various spots around the bay. Setting up and packing up in the rain, wind and eventually the dark. Admittedly the weather was miserable and we were all cold, wet and inundated by insects. But we were all in good spirits and that really set and maintained the weekend vibe of adventure.

We intended to go prawning in the national park after dark. Prawns are more active at night and more easiest spotted during the night with a torch. Their eyes light up orange and their translucent body is more visible against the light at night. It was raining off and on and seemed like we wouldn’t have a successful evening of prawning. Picture this, six mates in the pitch darkness of a national park, underneath a gazebo next to a lake during a downpour. It was insects galore. We were all in our wader gear, beer in hand, sausages on the grill. Patiently waiting out the rain. If it didn’t let up we’d just enjoy the evening, even in our discomfort.

Eventually, the rain did let up around 10pm and we set off into the lake. At first the water was somewhat murky but eventually settled. I still recall the first netting of a prawn, the yelp and group cheer. After a successful and highly therapeutic night of prawning we packed up what felt like a few hundred kilos worth of gear and lugged it uphill back to the utes. Back at the campsite, our tents had yielded some water given how heavily it had rained. Tired and thankful for cover above, sleeping mattress below and a burrito of a sleeping bag — I couldn’t be happier to fall asleep.

There was a torrential downpour overnight. Packing up to return home the next morning, everything left outside was completely drenched, even if it were undercover, shoes, cooking gear and lot. The guys were great, we discussed who needed to be where by what time and hashed out a game plan. Everyone then got on with it and packed up all the wet gear and we set out.

Although the trip took place under miserable weather. And we were cold and wet in plenty of discomfort. The resilience and steadfast spirits of the guys was encouraging. It made me reflect on how easily I maintained a positive outlook because of the overall vibe and how I in turn support and maintain that energy. I also reflected on how I didn’t resist the discomfort and actually let it sink into the backdrop along with the weather. It reminded me how important it is to control your mind. Remember how we sat beneath a small gazebo in the wet, cold and dark definitely makes me appreciate the warm comfort of home. But there’s something nagging about how the discomfort was good for my spirit. I feel like its nurturing my tolerance and pain threshold. I think I’ll continue to get uncomfortable…