This year’s election has had me thinking about our country’s resilience.
It is far too easy to let our preconceptions get in the way of our understanding. For example, as I canvassed for a first time candidate in the last election, some of my best conversations were with members of the opposite party. They weren’t planning to vote for my candidate and clearly expected the conversation would be over once they told me their party affiliation. But we kept talking and I learned something from each of them.
The vast majority of people I talked with were moderates—people who are discouraged with our politics, and therefore skeptical about the whole election. They didn’t want to be convinced; they wanted to be heard. And here is the resilience lesson in this: if we can each get our resilience to a high level, then we can stop blaming and start solving our problems.
If you find yourself disappointed in the political dysfunction, maybe you should get your resilience on so you can help change it. Here are two questions that can predict your resilience with about 75% accuracy:
- Do you find it difficult to stay motivated?
- Are you confident that you can achieve your goals?
If you rate yourself low on either of these, here’s one thing you can do to increase your resilience so you can help change things: Slow Down! Instead of reacting in the moment, allow some time for your wise mind to reign in your emotional brain. If you keep your composure, you’ll be much more effective at helping create positive change, in your own life and the lives of those around you.