Have You Offered Your Community the Gift of "Resiliency?"

Like millions of people living in the northeastern United States, last night was filled with hours of torrential rain.?You may have seen video of the seemingly endless water flowing into the underground subway stations or pictures of highways filled with water and abandoned vehicles. Just a few weeks ago, after an especially rainy morning, water filled the gutters on my street – and I worried about the shallow bay right across the street overflowing the banks. I must admit that I experienced some anxiety last night, but fortunately all is well today.

Thinking about worry and concern… (“Don’t think about that,” you say!) the leader of an online coaching group I participate in, recently had a serious health scare. Shortly before our scheduled weekly group coaching call, our brilliant leader (“the picture of his health,” as they say, and only in his mid-30s) let us know that our meeting that week was cancelled.?The members of our coaching group soon learned that our friend had tested positive for Covid, and we learned that – for a couple of days – he had been coping with a moderately high fever. Fortunately, our friend made a rapid recovery ... and we were back on track the following week, our leader as energized and sharp as ever.

Both of these incidents led me to think about an important quality in life, especially these days – Resiliency!

In early 2020 (before the global pandemic was “a thing!”), I hit the road with one of my author clients. I accompanied him at several events and speaking appearances, where he told the attendees about his new book. He spoke to audiences in Chicago and in Colorado about happiness, and how to “use our brains” (literally) to maximize that desirable state.?

In sharing this fascinating information, he was offering the results of his own personal journey.?My author friend had been inspired to learn as much as he could about happiness -- and share his expertise with others -- because of a tragic?event that affected?his life during his college years. My client told those attending these events that this tragedy taught him the importance of resilience -- and he used the metaphor of a car's?shock?absorbers. It's important?to make sure that our “car” (ourselves, our state of mind) are well prepared before any glimmer of a challenge appears on the horizon.

We are all experts in our respective fields. The information and ideas I share with my clients and the students who participate in my online course are based on my 35-year career in the media -- 20 years as a television news producer for media outlets (including ABC News, CNN and CBS News) followed by 15 years in the PR field.

I love working with people – and talking with people – who are passionately driven to share their knowledge in a way that improves the lives of others. I encourage you to offer your wisdom – perhaps in the form of "bite-size nuggets" via social media platforms or short online videos.?Some of the people who see the content you share may not take the initiative of absorbing it, reflecting on it, and incorporating it into their life -- but some portion of your audience will! Through this process, you will not only be helping members of your community prepare "upstream" ... so they are not caught at the precipice of the raging waterfall without the proverbial "paddle."

I will be expanding on this idea in the free masterclass that I’ll be presenting later this month, “The Best-Kept Secrets of Public Relations, and How to Get the Media Recognition YOU Deserve!” If you’d like to register for this free masterclass, just let me know!

Meanwhile, I encourage you to give your community “the gift of resiliency” – in whatever form that may take, based on your experience and expertise. This is now more important than ever – and I can promise you that the “recipients of this gift” will indeed be grateful, and you’ll have left a well-deserved impression of generosity and friendship, which goes a long way!