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R is for Resilience

July 24, 20221 min read

R is for Resilience

Resilience: the ability to cope with and recover from life’s challenges and setbacks.

It’s never too late to develop resilience.

Since we are living longer and adapting to a high speed of change, healthful aging in our times requires it.  

Studies indeed reveal a positive relationship between resilience, well-being, and aging well.


Resilience is about our ability to respond. Our ability to respond to what life brings. Can we learn from our adversity? Can we get proper support and avoid our tendency to blame or shame? Can we see things from a more positive outlook? 

It's a set of skills I like to call mental fitness. Learnable skills and practices to help us maintain a sense of well-being during challenging times.The ability to maintain our awareness of how we think and feel and react, and how it serves us and others. 

Death, divorce, a health or financial setback, or conflicts in relationships are met with less stress and reactivity when we have a foundation of resilience skills.

The challenges can become opportunities. Opportunities to emerge stronger than before.

We can develop these resilience skills well before we need them to boost our resilience. The skills relate to habits of self-care, mindfulness practices, and conflict resolution. They are emotion-based such as practicing emotional expression, or habits of self-talk. They can be problem-based in the form of better decision-making, or setting boundaries. 


If we can develop these mental fitness skills NOW then we're better prepared for life's inevitable challenges.

And since we know these demands can be unpredictable, perhaps today is a good time to start

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Jenifer Paredes

"I can't imagine a better way to use our mind than in service of a healthier body"

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