"Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of being."
~John Wooden
2021 is here!! The 2021 monthly blogs will explore a resilience practice with self-assessments to provide you insight on being the best version of yourself. We'll focus on building yourself up so that your internal resources don’t become depleted and you can be a resilient leader.
"A resilient leader is a person who sees failures as temporary setbacks they can recover from quickly. They maintain a positive attitude and a strong sense of opportunity during periods of turbulence. When faced with ambiguity, a resilient leader finds ways to move forward and avoids getting stuck. Many studies have indicated the importance of resilience as both an individual and leadership trait."
~ Joseph Folkman, Forbes Contributor
The year 2021 will be challenging with lots of opportunity to make a difference in your life by being resilient and being a resilient leader will ensure your team thrives. The power to build resilience is within us. Just as we can learn other skills through practice, we can teach ourselves to be more resilient.
January Focus: Self-Care
This month we'll explore ways to develop self-care habits to be your best self and become a more resilient leader. Self-care helps you cope better with stress and prioritize what's important to you so you have a positive outlook.
The true essence of self-care is two-fold. It involves self-knowledge and positive self-talk.
Self-knowledge: What restores us differs substantially from person to person depending on our tastes and preferences. Start to develop a better understanding of things you can do to restore your own energy.
Self-talk: To take better care of ourselves we need to work on cultivating a kinder, more compassionate inner voice. Start with awareness of your inner dialog and increase your own self-compassion.
There are 6 dimensions of self-care. If you're more intentional about your habits in these areas you'll have more energy and a positive outlook which will make you a more resilient leader.
Emotional – Managing stress, sufficient sleep, keeping on top of work, and seeking therapy.
Passion – Staying curious, learning new things, reading, joining clubs, and enhancing intellectual interests.
Wellness – Sufficient exercise, balanced nutrition, preventative medical care, and rest.
Relationship – Robust social network offering guidance and reducing stress.
Financial – Living within financial means and creating a budget.
Spiritual – Understanding the beliefs and values that shape who you are and guide your life.
Your first step to improving your self-care is a quick self-assessment on the above 6 dimensions. Once you've obtained a better understanding of your current state, then you can determine what self-care habits you'd like to change in order to improve your resilience. Rate yourself from 1 to 3 on each self-care dimension.
1 = I would like to do more in this area.
2 = I do a few things irregularly in this area.
3 = I have great rituals or routines in this area.
Over the next week observe your current self-care habits, review your assessment from above and listen to your self-talk. Once you're more aware of your current habits, pick one of the 6 self-care dimension and determine one thing you could do to improve in this area. As you improve your self-care habits you will also improve your resilience.
What's one thing you can do in January to improve self-care?
How will you implement this one thing?
How can you remember to do it day-after-day?
What self-talk do you need to start saying to yourself daily to increase your self-compassion?