So it’s been another weekend of unexpected turns. I’d planned on spending a lot of it sorting out my house – tidying, cleaning and putting things back in their place. I also wanted to fit in some work on my business, getting out in the sun and doing some cooking. Sounds like a fair amount but for a four day weekend I thought it would be pretty reasonable.
All of my four days started with a lie-in so what happened on Friday morning? Yes, I woke up just before 06:00. Not a massive problem as it meant I actually went out running for the first time in two weeks. Our half marathon has been indefinitely postponed and I promised myself I wouldn’t let the running slide (especially when I hadn’t even got to 10k, let alone half marathon level) but things don’t always go to plan!
Anyway, I had a great run and even had a quick nap when I got back. Just to make up for the early morning obviously 😂. I’d already decided to go to the local butchers to stock up on some ingredients for the next few weeks and as it’s so popular I knew there would be a queue. Got there early and still had to wait for 1.5 hours to get in (it was definitely worth it though). By the time the afternoon came though I wasn’t feeling right. I have problems with my skin in the sun and my arms were reacting badly to the sun from the weekend before and although I’d put cream on, I think all that standing around had affected them.
I felt quite rough in the end and took myself back to bed. Unfortunately things deteriorated and I found myself in bed or the bathroom until Sunday afternoon. Ugh, it felt like such a waste of a perfectly good weekend. Not to mention that my house was still a mess!
I found myself thinking that things just weren’t fair. Nearly every plan I’ve made for this year, whether it’s big or small, has changed. I mean, what’s the point in making plans if you can’t even stick to them because you don’t know what’s going to happen?!
What I discovered was that actually, I’m pretty good at adapting to these changes though. Once upon a time, I would have freaked out and beat myself up for being ill or for thinking I could actually make plans that would come to fruition. Instead, I’d spent most of the weekend feeling fairly ok about it, even if I didn’t feel great about what was going on!
I started wondering when that changed because I definitely haven’t always been that way. Where did that resilience come from and how could I get some more?
I think resilience comes from not giving up. It comes from trying once more, even when things didn’t go right previously. It comes from wanting something that seems a little out of reach but going for it anyway.
I gained some by admitting I didn’t enjoy my job. I gained a little more when I started trying to find out what I might do instead. More turned up when I actually went on my coaching course. Even more when I started my business and when I walked the Camino it came in spades by just getting up and carrying on every morning.
Resilience is built by all kinds of things and as well as not giving up on what you want, it’s mainly built on achieving your goals. Once you do that a few times, it’s amazing what you can deal with when the shit hits the fan. Make your goals small to start with and you’ll find they get bigger and more grandiose the more you achieve. How resilient is that?!