Have you ever wondered how some people seem to adapt to the challenges in their life or work, no matter what hits them? Everything seems to take them straight into bliss.

I’ve watched people from afar and seen admirable patterns of perseverance that were almost beyond belief.

I’ve lived through a boatload of challenges that created much suffering and fear in my lifetime. It’s taken a heavy dose of daily self-inquiry and spiritual practice to turn my fear into freedom. I knew that’s what it would take to get to the other side, to live into the future I was meant to have.

Living into our highest potential requires a resilience to look far beyond the shores of our current vista, beyond the routine view of our hectic lives.

Having a destination in mind that’s beyond your current worries let’s you bounce back from any calamity because you know there’s more than the here and now.

What would it be like to imagine you could weather any storm or endure any conflict — to trust that it would always all work out ok? How would that feel, to wake up knowing — that no matter what — you’d be resilient enough to handle it?

I was on a nature walk recently and stopped to look out over the lush landscape. I noticed how the butterfly flitted in and among the wide bounty of foliage, seemingly searching for the just right one, landed, then quickly flitted away to find another plant tarmac.

Similarly, a few weeks ago a hummingbird was searching in a flowerless shrub for something to feed on. I was curious why it would be seeking nourishment in a shrub that obviously was void of nectar. Perhaps it was scouting for ripe buds to return to at some point, or perhaps was unaware of the futile effort it was making.

Developing resilience to challenging life scenarios requires a fortitude seldom acquired in our impatient culture.

We want returns on investment in short timeframes as a guarantee for our efforts. We expect productivity regardless of the environmental conditions of our private or public lives, as if we could segment one from the other successfully.

So how do we get to resilience from our impatient ways of being?

Here’s Two Ways to Develop the Resilience You Need to Create a Thriving Life and Career

FIRST: Develop a Mindset of Allowance (and Practice It Ruthlessly)

For years I walked around saying “it’s all perfect” when I knew damn well I was resentful for things not going better.

We pretend that our searching among the shrubs will always yield what we’re looking for, and when it doesn’t yield nectar, we’re disappointed at best or spiral into depression at our failure to produce.

What if the flitting among the plants was just to get the sweet scent of fragrant blossoms so we could bring that joy to the task at hand? Or we were flying among the nectarless shrub exercising our wings for the soaring heights to which we’d fly tomorrow?

Every single action in our life yields a significant return… it may just look different than we expect.

Resilience is in seeing the bounty that’s present, rather than the outcome you desire.

I often help my clients to view each experience (especially the challenging ones) as an important lesson for something that’s just up ahead. We learn to see the current conflict or crisis as a ripe bud… what’s here that will bloom later?

When you begin to view life this way, you become available for what’s coming, rather than rejecting today or this moment as a drudgery or problem to be resisted or overcome.

When you see a traffic light turn to yellow, you don’t swear at the green light for changing. You’ve become accustomed to knowing that yellow turns into red (and eventually green) and you acquiesce and put your foot on the brake.

Your resilience in difficult situations is solely about the mindset you bring to it, and the direction you’re headed.

Life just is. This is one of the hardest things we experience as humans.

Next time you encounter a challenging scenario, look behind the dilemma to examine what’s actually here for you. Are you stretching your wings so you can soar to new heights tomorrow?

And even more importantly…

SECOND: Get Clarity about Your Purpose to Gain Direction and Guide Your Actions

It’s a whole lot easier to get where you’re going if you have a map or compass. Most of us set about in life imagining that it will all go fine if we just do what’s expected of us.

Then we realize that the expectations that weren’t ours in the first place have misled us into a corner, and we become angry or resentful.

Or we quit and give up. Resentment turns into disillusionment turns into apathy. No wonder we’re where we are — too many have turned their voting ballots into coasters.

Purpose is NOT just an esoteric spiritual quest — it’s your personal GPS in these uncharted waters.

To navigate this quickly evolving world, you need to know what direction YOU PERSONALLY are headed. Anything else is living in the passenger’s seat.

Keeping the end in mind — no matter how many detours or roadblocks may temporarily distract you — helps you stay focused and resilient and persevere in your goals.

No matter what.

Get your GPS now to orient your life and career in the direction of what matters.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Holly Woods is a transformational consultant, coach and mentor who’s been guiding people from all over the globe into purposeful lives for 35 years.

She’s built and scaled multiple businesses and brings a rigorous academic background of product development and systems design. As an executive and consultant she’s created or reorganized infrastructure for dozens of businesses, streamlining product development and delivery to scale and maximize meaning and profits.

With her background as a Human Development scientist and Master Integral Coach, Holly can help you see your blindspots that keep you from life, career or business success, the roadblocks that prevent you from reaching your goals and create a life and career aligned with what matters so you can have a thriving business, a life you love and make an impact on the planet.

Download Holly’s free 10 Sure Strategies to Live into Your SuperPowers to take steps into your inconceivable and epic life!