When the World Keeps Throwing Rocks

Part I of the holidays is now over and we swiftly begin the run-in period to the end of the year. ?For many, this is a gentle wind down, whilst for others, there is a mad sprint to get everything completed, and closed off ahead of all the counters returning to zero on January 1. ?Either way, this can often be a intense period of fluctuation and uncertainty even with Part II of the holiday spirit being just around the corner.

As I’ve been on this short European jaunt, and speak to various people around the world, it is clear that many people and businesses, are experiencing tough times. ?On top of what people have had to deal with over the past few years the world seems to keep throwing rocks of various shapes and sizes. The future does not look that much brighter either.

For myself, the journey to France to see the new naturally occurring swimming pool in my basement (see previous article which described the naturally occurring phenomenon of a new mass of water in my basement due to the storms!), there were a series of hurdles flung in my way which made for a less than easy journey. ?This included cancellations of all Gatwick Express trains, due to a points failure, and upon arrival at the airport hotel, all computer systems had gone down causing the normal speedy check in process to be replaced and done manually by a skeleton crew of staff!

It was at this point, that the only thing I could do was to chuckle!!

Whilst the tanned people heading off to the sun (!) who were also in the queue, were complaining profusely to the young lady, who looked like she was weeks into the job, at best, and was trying to keep everyone informed, I just simply chuckled!!

After everything else that had happened in the last few weeks, a slow check-in process to a hotel seemed to be minuscule compared to some of the other things that have happened as well as comparing to the horrific events that are occurring in the other corners of the world. ?Of course, perspective and comparison can help a great deal and yet this can get lost in the heat of the moment when everything feels as if it is falling apart. ?Yet there is a part of me that thought:

“Come on world, what else have you got?!”

Not wanting to truly receive an answer to this question and have even more rocks to be thrown, I nervously chuckled and also realised we as humans are more resilient than we sometimes give ourselves credit for!

Resilience, a?dynamic process characterized by positive outcomes despite adversity or stress, (Luthar et al.,2015),?is something that we humans develop at different speeds over time. ?The first rock that hits us might come with a bit of a shock and a whole bunch of WTF! ?Our brains then go into survival mode which involves a number of phases that include solution finding, strategic planning as well as emotional?regulation: and in my case the odd chuckle!

So as we gather momentum into the run in, please remind yourselves you are more resilient than you may think.

You will undoubtedly have your own patterns of resilience that build and develop that have proved hugely helpful as life has thrown rocks and hurdles in your general direction. ?The coping mechanisms that have helped you are a product of your own creativity and please commend yourself for these. ?Without them you would most likely be in a very different place.

So as we speed towards December 31, please take a moment to congratulate yourself on getting to where you have, despite the many rocks that have landed. ?And if worse comes to worse in the following weeks, let out a little chuckle as it might just be the thing that gets us all through it.

Let the rocks keep flying and games begin.

Happy chuckling!!

Jez

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