Rediscover Your Resilience: Transforming Setbacks into Comebacks

Ever felt like the “Cat-in-the-Hat" in Dr. Seuss land, balancing life's load on one foot?

Sometimes for days, other times for months, and even sometimes for years.

While juggling the cake, life’s sweetness; the rake, thrown into your path; and the “fish-in-the-dish,” my inner critic; I learned these important life lessons from my resiliency coach, Jodi Silverman , and my mentor,?Ilise Benun, pulled from Dr. Seuss's world.

What's the fastest way to go from bruises, bumps, or crash-and-burn dumps to big jumps and high kicks?

So, how do you get back on track when you feel like your life is spinning out of control?

It's not by diving into the deepest waters.?

Not by simply taking another course.

Not by comparison with your peers.

And it's not by chasing after the next shiny object.

This is especially true if you have to step back from what you love to do and step up to become a caregiver for the people you love the most.

…Or you are recovering from an accident, injury, or chronic illness.

This year, I found my North Star… and it has unfailingly gotten me back on track after my scrapes, bumps, and crash-and-burn dumps. It begins with mastering your mindset, seeking community support, and building sustainable habits.

#1 Master?Your Mindset: Lighten Your Load

What Is the “Bent Rake?”?

• Thrown into your path and it stops you.
• You don’t see it coming.
• It changes everything and turns your world upside down for a while, sometimes longer.?
• It's different for everyone.?
• The bent rake during COVID was more like a sledgehammer.

What’s the impact?

• You feel a loss of control over something in your life.
• It's easy to become a victim and let it take you down.
• It drains your energy and weakens your immune system.
• Affects every interaction.?
• Time slows down and everything takes longer to accomplish.
• Being pulled into other people's drama.

What can you do about it??

Baby steps back to taking control.

• Consider what is in your control.
• You can’t control what just happened. But you can control how you respond to it…and the meaning you attach to it.
• You don’t have to become a victim.
• Asking for help is a sign of strength.

What Is the “Sweet Cake?”

• Discover life’s sweetness and milk the mini magical moments. Small things can make a BIG difference.

How to get more of it?

• Hugs, hellos, and high-fives.
• Rocking your grandson.
• Sharing books and exchanging stories.
• Sipping your favorite brew in the silence of the morning.

What is the “Fish-in-a-Dish?”

• Your biggest inner critic
• It calls you worthless.
• It hates everything you do.
• It second-guesses you.

What can you do about it?

Reflect and reframe:

• You’re too far behind to catch up.

It’s not about catching up. It's about climbing.

• You can by taking one bite at a time.

Catch your critic in the lies.?

Ask yourself: Is this based on assumptions or truth? Could there be other explanations??

#2: Connect with a Caring Creative Community

Solopreneurs don't try to do it alone!!! It takes longer and seems harder.?It's better to learn together.

Be inspired by others. Learn from your peers. Create accountability groups to keep each other climbing.

Reconnect, start, or join a warm, welcoming, community of creative professionals at various stages of their business growth. I'm honored to be part of Ilise Benun’s Simplest Marketing Plan – Marketing Mentor (SMP) community.

#3: Turn Daggers into Doings: Build Sustainable Practices

Faith and Mindfulness Matter: Feed Your Mind, Body, and Spirit

Here’s my routine:

• Before my household wakes, I carve out the first hour to set myself up for daily success. This includes daily yoga stretching exercises, gratitude journaling, Jim Kwik’s brain exercises, and Mel Robbins’s high-five habit.
• Eating is an adventure like avocado toast on Ezekiel whole wheat bread, egg whites, and cherry tomatoes with oregano.
• Cooking is therapy. While doing prep cooking, I binge-listen to some of my favorite podcasts: Mel Robbins, Maxwell Leadership, Seth Godin, Marketing Mentor, and Simon Sinek.
• Reignite your faith: Listen to God’s whisper in the quiet pockets of your day.
• At night curling up with a suspenseful novel or personal growth or leadership book.

Professional: Explore, Learn, and Grow

Daily writing

I've been writing for at least 30 minutes every morning for more than a year which has morphed into writing 1500 words a day. Recently, I hit a milestone of 20,000 words in just over two weeks.

Establishing my newsletter

My Copy Magic Toolkit newsletter offers FUN, simple, creative tips, and techniques to weave more memorable stories in and take more filler and jargon out.?

It has grown to include featured edtech agency owners (Edtech Agency Talk) and education pioneer student success stories ("Education Re-Imagineers").??I also use my newsletter to explore markets I'm interested in and to stay top of mind with my network. My content calendar helps me stay consistent and meet my deadlines.

My newsletter will be back on track in January.?

Start Small and Build a Bedrock

Life is filled with bruises and crash-and-burn bumps that sometimes take you down, and leave you empty with nothing more to give. I've witnessed these and have also been knee-deep in it as recently as December.?

From “Baby-Step” Benun, I learned to baby step my way to bigness, climbing from one steppingstone to the next.

This year I've been able to recover from setbacks more quickly by focusing on these three things:?

• Master your mindset.
• Connect with a caring community of creative professionals.
• Build sustainable habits.

Remember, resilience isn't about bouncing back to who you were - it's about growing into someone stronger, more adaptable, and more connected to yourself and others.?

By incorporating these practices into your daily life, you can build a foundation for lasting emotional well-being and help others do the same.

Share your journey, reach out, and remember - you're not alone. Together, we can emerge stronger, more compassionate, and more resilient than ever.

About me: Hi, I’m Lynda Dell! I'm a digital content marketing strategist, persuasive storyteller, and ghostwriter who creates thought leadership content for Edtech, eLearning, and service providers that builds engagement, trust, and online authority.

As an AWAI-trained copywriter with nine years of digital content marketing experience, I turn knowledge and experience into clear, compelling stories that connect, care, change hearts, minds, and lives, and empower.