Resiliency and the Power to Continue On
The recent passing of Barbara E. Smith, a famous restauranteur and first black women to be featured on the cover of Mademoiselle brought me to one of her many inspirational quotes which is, “I have stood on a mountain of no’s for one yes.” This quote hit home as it became inspirational for me as I continue to grow my consulting organization and the no’s can sometimes cloud your resiliency quotient. So, what to do when a change, obstacle, disruption or a simple nofinds its way in preventing you in achieving your objectives and goals?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines resiliency as “the ability of something to return to its original size and shape after being compressed or deformed.” It also defines it as, “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change.” I think both definitions are significant as I interpret one as to refocus while the other is to re-navigate. These definitions / interpretations may sound opposite from each other, but they are pertinent in achieving your end-result, most importantly it moves you to act. Check out the following steps that have assisted me in either refocusing, re-navigating or re-solidifying my feet on the ground.
Identify Your Purpose
Take a moment and identify what you are passionate about and how this passion can resonate with various activities that matter most. As the songs says, “when the going gets tough, the tough gets going”, it is precisely when it gets though where your purpose will be what drives you. Knowing my purpose which is, “to help people help themselves” has allowed me to engage with my personal power which supports my resiliency quotient.
Engage in Your EQ
When you begin to engage in your emotional quotient (EQ) you become self-aware where, a continuous internal dialogue takes flight allowing one to realize their talents, limits, and challenges. I can’t tell you the multiple times where my sense of nervousness or anxiety began to set in and, how I was able to pull myself out of it by being aware of me and what I needed to do to self-regulate.
Circle Yourself with Those that Got Your Back
I remember one of my elementary school teachers telling me, “I will tell you the kind of person you are based on the people you hang out with.” It did not hit me about the power of this quote until high school when I realized I was hanging out with the wrong crowd. Mrs. Harris was right and years later I rely on my wife, some close confidants and several trusting voices where I can share my ideas and thoughts as a soundboard helping me re-navigate my next steps.
Strategize and Initiate
In this final step it is about bringing it all together from knowing your purpose, EQ, and who you can rely on so you in-turn can plan ahead to either refocus, re-navigate or simply to stand your ground and face the challenge head on. One key point is that everything has a start and knowing your purpose will help trigger the power needed to make things happen.
Barbara E. Smith was also a best-selling author, entrepreneur and a positive example for children. Growing up in a working-class environment she utilized the power of resiliency through the examples of her house maid mother and steelworker father. So, as you find yourself challenged, rejected or derailed what can you do to identify and engage in your resiliency quotient so you in turn can achieve your objectives and goals.
Resiliency and the Power to Continue On is my latest article focusing on what you can do to refocus, re-navigate or re-engage your foundation in order to achieve your objectives and goals. Thank you to Yorka Velasco-Caballero, MBA for co-authoring this article with me.
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