Often at this time of the year, I write about a spring-related theme that connects to our personal and professional lives. In past years I shared some ‘spring forward‘ ideas. This year, in Toronto, spring weather was very late to come. We had snow in mid May!!

But thankfully, and true to form, spring did arrive and as I write this post on the May long weekend, I’m joyful to see that the trees are budding, the grounds are sprouting, and somehow Mother Nature remembered what to do and showed up.  For a while, it looked like she may have forgotten (the snow, the cold!) but she (Mother Nature) is resilient and bad weather doesn’t stop her from remembering her innate intelligence and showing up.

Guess what? We are like that too.  We have innate resilience, intelligence, and abilities to help us show up and weather the storms behind us and the potential weather ahead.

And yes, I get it: it doesn’t always feel that way. When in the midst of a stormy time like we are now in the Covid-19 Pandemic, we often lose sight of our innate abilities and resilience. It’s human. Very human. Count me in on that challenge too.

But what I’ve been (re)learning and remembering is this:

When we settle ourselves down a bit from the stress; catch our breath; and let ourselves see, really see – we remember that we have an innate resource of strength, adaptability, and toughness inside us all that can be counted on. We just have to remember to tap inside. 

Seriously, we do. Take a look back…

Since the pandemic broke in mid March, where have you stretched yourself and managed to:

• Learn something new
• Become more comfortable with something that was initially uncomfortable
• Surprise yourself with ways to adapt
• Do without the comforts you thought you simply could never be with out

I’m not putting on rose colour glasses here nor asking you to do that. There are tough times at hand and there’s road ahead that feels uncertain. Because of that — it’s a good idea to recognize, trust, and tap into the innate resourcefulness you already have proven to have, and to cultivate it further.

So, now it’s time to further fertilize your resilience and cultivate it for even more growth and heartiness.

Recognizing you are more resilient is a good start. It’s equally important to grow it and to do that you need to cultivate, nurture, and fertilize it. There are so many ways to do that. I’m sharing a bunch in my ongoing series with articles and video.  For now, here are just a few quick fertilizer tips:

1. Connect with others. In any time, connecting with others is a huge well-being and resilience booster. Now, in times of physical distancing, we need to find new ways to connect and it’s ever more crucial. Do it safely, but do it. Reach out and connect with your people (work and personal) and reap rewards for yourself and in being there for others too.
2.  Nurture a growth mindset: Every day presents new challenges and new opportunities to grow and learn. Try not to resist these moments. Rather, stay in a mindset that invites learning, adaptation, and healthy stretch. This is a fabulous way to build yourself up and create healthy new resources to meet the challenges of the seasons ahead. You can learn along the way (lessons abundant); take a course, webinar, follow some videos (more of mine to come); and countless other ways.
3. Tame the Inner Critics: Just like there are pests that can ruin a garden, our negative self talk can get in the way of cultivating our resilience resevoirs (or garden). Notice when your self talk gets in the way. Try on a more empowering and encouraging conversation with yourself and see what happens. And…
   

   Check out my video on “Are you Shoulding Yourself?” and my article “Six+ Habits (good and bad) for Pandemic Stress“.

 

MORE TO COME…

I’m creating new videos, articles, and resources every week. I invite you to stay in touch (see my blog and sign up for my newsletter for more.  And visit me at my facebook.com/bigcheesecoaching page)

And here are a few more ways I might be of some help (see my Letter).

For now, wishing you a lovely a spring (despite the tough stuff) and with loads of resilience today and in the days/weeks to come.

Best,

Eileen Chadnick

Eileen Chadnick, PCC, ABC is principal of Big Cheese Coaching and an award-winning coach and communications professional in Toronto. She specializes in career management, leadership development, and communications. She works with leaders (aspiring to experienced) and organizations to foster personal, professional, and organizational wellbeing. She draws from the disciplines of emotional intelligence, Conversational Intelligence®, and neuroscience. Author of the book, Ease:Manage Overwhelm in Times of Crazy Busy, Eileen is also a contributing leadership and careers columnist with the Globe and Mail. Join her in conversations about leadership, learning, life!