macular degeneration, macular, diagnosis Red Rubber Ball – My Macular Degeneration Journey/Journal

Red Rubber Ball

[We haven’t done song titles for awhile, click here for Red Rubber Ball.]

One of the sessions I was in at that conference I attended had to do with resilience. The presenter said one of the keys to resilience is self-awareness, self-knowledge. Kind of an interesting thought. Whenever I think of resilience, that “bounce back ability” we strive for, I think of, well, bouncing. Like a red rubber ball. But maybe you aren’t a red rubber ball. Maybe you are a titanium ball-bearing, built to stand up to the pressure without giving in. Or maybe you are a Nerf ball. Flattening with the least amount of pressure but springing back the instant the pressure is gone. Knowing who and what you are can show you how to approach a challenge. Like I said, interesting concept.

I found some blogs by ‘The Self-Awareness Guy‘. He did a piece on self-awareness and resilience and I think he was talking about some of what the presenter meant. For one thing, he said you cannot harness your strengths until you know what they are. Sort of ditto in reverse for your weaknesses. You cannot avoid them or make those skills stronger until you know what they are. It also follows you should know your lesser skills so you recognize you have other options. Remember the infamous plan B, plan C, etc.?

A Psychology Today article entitled ‘Ten Traits of Emotionally Resilient People’ said resilient people know their own boundaries. Huh? What I think this author meant was this: there is a part of you that is the real you. It is strong and has integrity. This ‘you’ does not change with circumstances or outside influences. It is who you truly are.

Knowing your true and unchanging self can make you very strong. It can make you resilient.

The presenter talked about ‘mission’. I am going to change that to purpose. Purpose is very close to your true core self. Why the heck are you here? Be aware of your personal values. When you know what they are you know where you want to go and what you are willing to do to get there.

Remember Frankl. The man said when you have a why (and recognize that why) you can survive any how. That is resilience.

So, need a little resilience in dealing with things, AMD included? Know you have an untouchable core. That is you unchanged. Draw upon it. Define its values. That is what you are striving for. Why you are here will give you power. Use your knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses to help you get to your goals. Self-awareness can lead to resilience. Cool.

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