Last year I heard a Principal from Alberta refer to teachers that most of them are either approaching a storm, in a storm or leaving a storm.
The same holds true for all people.
In your own life you will always find yourself in one of these sections of a storm in different areas of your life.
Here are the areas which you can expect a storm to frequently hit:
Physically
Mentally
Emotionally
Spiritually
Financially
Professionally
For example, you may be leaving a storm relationally, yet approaching a storm financially.
You may be in a storm professionally, leaving a storm spiritually and approaching an even bigger storm physically.
Often times, these storms are out of our control and out of our reach. Some storms we simply have to survive while others we can forecast coming long before they hit and we can divert our course to only catch the side of the storm which has less impact on our lives.
Either way, total avoidance of these storms is impossible. You need to be ready everyday. Let me show you three ways you can be ready to weather the storms that you are going to face in life.
Clean Up
If a storm has just ripped apart one area of your life it is time for you to clean up. Take out the trash, pick up your valuable belongings, cash in the insurance claims you need to cash in (typically these come in relying on friends to help) and patch up your house. Take the boards of your windows, let the new light into your life and allow yourself a chance to breath. Tell yourself you will be alright and move forward from ground zero.
Get Ready
After a clean up period (which could last hours or years) it is time for you to get ready. Getting ready starts with careful reflection on the last storm you faced. What did you learn from the storm? What areas of your life were weakened by its force? What areas do you need to improve on for when the next storm arrives? What short term and long term steps can you take to avoid facing the full impact of an impending storm which lies ahead?
Getting ready is where you build up resilience, grit and perseverance as a person. You choose to learn from your past to better dictate your future. It is your training period. It is the time to plant your stake in the ground to say, “no more” to the damage that future storms which may want to inflict.
Hold On
When the next storm arrives and attempts to ravage your mind, spirit, body, family, finances or your job, trust your training. There is a famous analogy from the Karate Kid where the boy puts all of the lessons he learned and training he had done in waxing his master’s car and painting his fence to finally become the karate kid he was meant to be. He had to trust his training to weather the battle which became his storm. The same is true for you. When it hits, you must trust your instincts and preparation that you have done to know and validate to yourself that you will survive and come through the storm stronger and more resilient.
***
My encouragement for you today is this: Whatever storm comes your way become mindful that it will pass. Become resilient through breaking down your life sized storms into the above categories and you will not only survive them, you may even flourish because of them. Some of the oldest tress in the world have the strongest roots because they have been tested by the strongest winds. To survive, their roots grew deeper and thicker. Let’s take a lesson from nature.
—
This post was previously published on Medium.
***
You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project
Compliments Men Want to Hear More Often | Relationships Aren’t Easy, But They’re Worth It | The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex | ..A Man’s Kiss Tells You Everything |
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: Mike Lewinski on Unsplash