Life Support: Practical Tips to Stay Resilient and Thrive
When a baby is born into this world and the parent holds them for the very first time, they quickly realize the neck of that child must be supported. An infant doesn’t have the ability to hold their head up. That little one has not yet developed the strength to support their own life.
There may be times in our lives that we can relate to the vulnerability of that newborn. We may feel as if our own existence is precarious, uncertain, and fragile. In those moments it’s good to remember we have choices and if we use those choices to take action, we can move ourselves from being stuck to moving forward. Just as the parents of the newborn must gently slide their hand under the back and neck of that baby to give them reinforcement, there are practices we too can implement to keep our own heads propped up.
4 Tips to Provide Life Support
Keep Moving – what happens in our lives tomorrow depends on what we do today. There are times in life when every one of us encounters experiences that leave us feeling wounded. We may have been humiliated in front of others, taken advantage of financially, or harmed in ways that crossed our boundaries. We have been let down, discouraged and dismayed by the behavior of others but their treatment of us does not define our future unless we allow it! Pain and disappointment are a part of what happens on planet earth. When something deeply affects us, we may feel shaken. We can pause and acknowledge what happened, honor the pain we felt, and then choose at our own pace, to move forward.
Observe Others – respecting other people is key. As soon as we realize that people are precious and valuable, our negative attitudes will change. We can’t see people for who they are if we have placed ourselves in the judge’s seat. We can’t be the jury and judge expecting to be happy in life. It can be challenging, but it is possible to view those we disagree with through a lens of love and compassion, rather than be critical and condescending. We have all been put here for a purpose. We may not understand them. We may abhor their behavior. We may hate what they stand for and despise their attacks but letting their conduct determine our future is a much more serious crime.
Arrest Anger – it can distort our perspective. When anger is present, the negative thoughts are never content to sit quietly. Instead, they may expand causing our judgement to be flawed. We may rehearse harsh words to spew out in situations where we feel exposed and unprotected. An angry person is easy to identify; the tension in their face, the veins popping from their neck, the eyes set aflame, and how quickly they go off into a rage. Vocalizing our frustration and wrath from a place of indignation may feel good at the moment but will usually result in shame.
Find Common Ground – we all want to be happy. We will never agree with everyone, so why not accept that as truth? We can’t thrive if we are always on the defensive. If we look hard enough, there will always be something to be pleased about. Looking for the good in others can be extremely complicated especially if we have “certain people” who vex our soul. Diverting attention away from those people and searching for constructive attributes in others can bring promising results to our own life force.
It’s ok to detox from news sources, social media and conversations that involve the characters who bring us down. Drama, chaos and defeat don’t need to play a role in our daily existence – we have our hands on the controls. Maybe it’s time to shut those outlets off and choose who and what we want to influence us. What vibes are we being drawn to and what results will we see manifest from those interactions? If it’s not bringing me peace it has no place. If it’s not promoting a productive mindset, shut it down.
Life support is not about having the capacity to take our next breath; it’s about accessing the ability to live a healthy, productive, fulfilling life.
Challenges bring choices. How do I want to respond?
Decisions bring opportunities. What options do I have before me?
Possibilities ignite the soul to produce results. We get to choose what we want those results to be. We are not the only ones that will live with those outcomes. We can select who we want to be, and how we want to engage. The quality of our lives depends on it.
