On Becoming ... Resilient, Buoyant , and Brave!

How does one remain resilient,buoyant, and brave in the midst of upheaval, change, personal struggles, letdowns,setback, and uncertainty? Let me share a few suggestions that have helped me through these circumstances.

Volunteering ... Time Well Spent!

Want to know the best way to develop new skills, contributing your own, add an instant professional network, and have some fun along the way? Volunteering make be your best ticket.

I have been volunteering in my community since the age of 13. My first volunteer gig was that of a Red Cross Babysitter for single parents. Recently I was asked why I felt that volunteerism was so important. Well there are many reasons but here's my short list of opportunities that volunteering presents:


1. The opportunity to contribute and to engage in the community around you.

2. The opportunity to develop a new network of like-minded individuals who share your passion for the cause at hand.

3. The opportunity to share your unique talents, skills, perspective,and experience.

4. The opportunity to develop new skills, training, and experience.

5. The opportunity to try out a new industry or sector and see if it is for you.

6. Assisting in keeping you skill set sharp when in transition between jobs.

7. Providing a stronger sense of purpose,satisfaction, and fulfillment by the very nature of the contribution that you are making.

8. Added self confidence by exercising your competencies.

9. New insights, perspectives, and knowledge of a particular industry.

10. You can leverage the experience you've gained as a point of entry into a totally new industry.

So what are you waiting for ... volunteer opportunities await.

Keep Calm and Carry On

"Keep Calm and Carry On" was a poster produced by the British government in 1939 during the beginning of World War II, intended to raise the morale of the British public in the event of invasion. The poster was rediscovered in 2000 and has been re-issued by a number of private sector companies, and used as the decorative theme for a range of paraphernalia including water bottles, coffee mugs, tote bags, stationary, and the like.

While languidly sipping the most delicious cup of freshly brewed Starbucks French Roast I often pretend that the morning java in my 'Keep Calm and Carry On' red coffee mug is a secret elixir that will enable me to do just that ... keep calm and carry on! Oh, if life could only be that simple but we all know the harsh reality that it isn't.

Many of us are dealing with high stress jobs, exceedingly high unemployment rates, dwindling bank accounts, escalating cost of living, and many other present-day challenges too vast to mention. So what is one to do?

Well Ido have a few constructive ways to "Keep Calm and Carry On" that could include:

1. Seeing your present challenges for what they are ... hidden opportunities that will help to test your mettle and your strength.

2. Trying your best to live in the present moment which still means enjoying the occasions and joys that may appear in the midst of your struggles.

3. Choosing to focus on the 'solutions' and the 'impending gains or growth' and not the imagined doom and gloom.

4. Shoving your pride and ego aside and asking for help when you really need it. Make sure that you keep all negative folks away.

5. Doing something nice for someone else. Shifting your focus to those in need is a suprisingly great way of lifting their spirits and your own.

6. Trying to exercise your creativity and resourcefulness and 'thinking outside of the box'. Exercise doesn't hurt either to kick start those happy and calm endorphins.

7. You're probably only using 10% of your brain power so how about tapping into the other 90%.

8. Evicting all negative thoughts and replacing them with positive and affirming ones.

9. Remembering always that you have value aside from what you do for a living and that you are indeed a competent and capable individual.

10. Most times emotions are not a very good gauge of reality so just try to do the next best or constructive thing even if it's only in baby or incremental steps. Just remember that you can choose to exercise 'grace under pressure', and you can recover from disaster or adversity and be resilient. It's all in how you think, what you feed your mental faculty and what you choose to do about it. So I challenge you to Keep Calm and Carry On!

May great success be yours!