JumpStart National Random Acts of Kindness Day (2/17/25)

QUOTE:  "Resilience is a choice.  It's choosing to rise above your circumstances, no matter how difficult, and become that person you're meant to be." (David Goggins)

MESSAGE:  ‘Tis the season.  Seems like Resilience has been popping up a lot in the past couple of weeks.  
It’s been cold.  People have been sick.  Schedules are scrambled with snow/e-learning days, and patience is wearing thin. The normal human instinct is to find someone to blame, to put the fault at someone else’s feet. That’s the coward’s way out.

Let’s stick in the moment, remember that you can’t change the past (no matter how much you grieve for it, or are angry about it, or…), you can’t change other people’s behavior, some things (like weather) will happen despite our best efforts, and some decisions (like new mandates) are bigger than we are.  Our best response is resilience - to do our best right now to rise above the circumstances. My wife drilled into our kids, “Don’t be a victim in your own life!”  I hope the lesson was learned, or at least a seed planted.  I know it’s a daily decision for me.

In 2010, Connors, Smith and Hickman wrote The Oz Principle, a book about accountability. In it, they say that we have  “a personal choice to rise above one's circumstances and demonstrate the ownership necessary for achieving desired results to See It, Own It, Solve It, and Do It.” 

The best way to become and remain resilient is to have a personal practice that works for you.  Gratitude, journaling/reflecting, exercise, meditation/contemplation, conscious decision-making, breathwork, etc. Neurons that fire together wire together.  Resilience doesn’t just happen.  It needs regular, intentional work on the inside. But everyone has the power to be resilient. It’s a choice we all have.
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THIS WEEK, TRY THIS:  The next time something doesn’t go the way you want or had planned, ask yourself, “will knowing the cause change how I respond?” If the cause is something over which you have no influence, forget about it.  If you DO have influence, then you can decide if it’s worth exerting time and energy toward change. If it’s worth it, then do it.  When it’s hard to start acting, ask yourself, “What am I afraid of?” and go from there.

DAD JOKE:  In order for there to be a murder of crows, there must be probably caws.