Life's Ups and Downs I am Resilient

How do you handle the ups and downs that life throws at you? Are you able to rise to the occasion at a moments notice? What types of circumstances do you have trouble coping with at times?


Life has a way of interrupting the best of plans.


We all have ups and downs. Sometimes it seems that there are more downs than there are ups. Sometimes it feels like the downs overtake the ups and it is hard to deal with them.  I know personally how I deal with it has changed a lot over the years. When I was younger, I'd panic when life threw me a downer. I would be upset and crazy and I would mentally scurry around my mind trying to figure out a way to "fix" it. That's not a bad idea but the down side of that is generating all this negative activity alongside it.  You know the questions, why is this happening to me? Why does it always happen to me? Why me? When will I have something good in my life?  Yada yada...

What I had to realize is the "bad" stuff eventually goes away, it always does. Something nice happens, something very positive and wonderful that wipes it out of the memory. It was hard for me to enjoy those times though, because I was always waiting for the other side of the floor to drop. I was in the mindset that good stuff never lasts, something bad is going to happen soon.  What a negative thought pattern. Of course more "bad" stuff is going to happen. That's just the way life is! Although I see it as "bad" at the time it really becomes "life lessons."

I can usually handle a crisis. Growing up, I learned how to put my feelings on hold so that I could function better and think a little more clearly. It's not that I don't have strong feelings about what's happened, it's just that I have to put them away until the worst of the crisis is over. What good is it going to do to get all up in an uproar? I mean who can really make a sensible decision in the midst of an emotional storm? Once it's over and I can release my feelings I usually have some kind of meltdown. Sometimes I sleep. Other times I feel sad or angry.  But the feelings are definitely brought to the surface to be dealt with.

Sometimes I get fed up and have trouble coping with merry-go-round problems. These are the same problems that come up over and over and over. It's clear what needs to be done but the solution is too difficult to implement. What I mean is, I used to want to be the problem solver for my family. I wanted to be the "hero" and I knew all the answers. Well, I knew I didn't but in dysfunctional families it's hard to break out of the stereotypical role.

As I have matured, I've changed the way I handle ups and downs and the wants to "fix" it all after years of negative rollercoaster rides. I pray, not only going down but coming back up as well. On the plummet down, I think,say and believe, "this too shall pass" and when I'm going up, I'm determined to enjoy it to the fullest and not worry about the next plunge.  I work hard to be resilient and resiliency works hard in me.  Ah good old "Resiliency." Resiliency is the ability to bounce back from the ups and downs of life. To be the rubber band that does not break.  To ride out the storm after it knocks you down.  To quickly get back up in a life full of whirlwind changes.

Daily, I am saying to myself, through life's ups and downs, I am resilient! I am Bouncing back from problems, negative things and just junk and stuff with more power and more smarts!  Nothing will ever get me & keep me down!  I have the POWER to keep going!

Racquel,

Be Blessed, Be Encouraged & Be a Blessing!