stay strong!

This summer programme has been all about resilience! Getting back up when things don’t go to plan is a strength which can be developed, taught, learnt! And developing our resilience isn’t about one thing in particular, it’s a combination of activities, practices & ways of thinking & behaving that we develop over time.

1. There are SO many things we can’t control! When we start realising this, we need to ask ourselves, what can we do to help ourselves?

• acceptance - this doesn’t mean you accept bad behaviour or rudeness. Acceptance is a strong awareness that, sometimes, there are situation in life that we simply can’t change. When things are difficult, ask yourself, how can bring some acceptance to the situation, to myself? How can I give myself a break?

• patience - things take time! We’re not talking about watching the clock here, we’re talking about taking the time to grow, to learn, to develop. And whilst we’re learning new things, or dealing with uncertainty, being patient with others, being patient with ourselves is super important. Ask yourself, how can I be patient today?

• trust - these changing times can lead us to feel insecure, a bit unsafe. It’s important to realise that we can continue to trust others, to trust ourselves, to trust in our own instincts, to trust that we things will work out. This sounds a bit wishy washy but trust us, you’ve got this! Ask yourself, what ways can I trust myself today?

• letting go - we hold onto things ALL the time! We hold onto the way we want things to be, we hold onto stuff, we hold onto people, thoughts. And it gets super-heavy! How about we let it go instead & allow ourselves to find our own way through the ups & downs of life? Ask yourself, what can I let go of today?

2. You can go one step further & remind yourself of ALL the times you have changed, been strong and resilient. Try this simple practice - sit comfortably and notice your breathing. Breathe in, breathe out. You have all the time in the world. Allow your mind to wander into your memories and remember a time when there was lots of change. Zoom in & get curious! What was the change? What did you think, how did you feel? Look at this change without getting too carried away. Zoom out, see where you are just now, notice how far you’ve come, notice how much has changed! Remind yourself that everything changes!

3. Finally, take a moment each day for a week to think about your strengths - perhaps you’re really kind, creative or curious? Ask yourself how can I use this strength today? Write this down, plan how to do it, then go ahead! Repeat these steps each day, perhaps sharing the same strength or choosing a different one, it’s up to you! At the end of the week, write about what you did, how you felt & what you learnt from this experience!

FINAL TAKE

Coping with the ups and downs of life can be made further difficult when we criticise ourselves too, when we think that we’re not doing enough, that we’re not coping well enough. So when we build our resilience we also learn how to stay calm and grounded, how to be flexible, how to see all the options and make wise choices and how to persevere particularly when we’re full of self doubt & feeling discouraged.

The not-so-small small print

There is none! Simply return to this part of the website daily to get the next part of this program. No payment or subscription required. This is a resource we are sharing with all of you through the website and aiming to help our youngsters, in the various stages of their lives. This program contains information and practices that are aimed for two different age groups and we intend to mostly post the primary level information in the morning and the secondary level in the afternoon. Please leave us a comment and let us know how you are getting on or get in touch if you require additional support. If you want to be notified of new content, courses and free resources subscribe to our mailing list.