Strengthening My Resolve

There are times in our lives where it would be nice to have a toolbox full of strong qualities that could be whipped out when we need protection from life’s challenges. We’d be able to select from a variety of personal strengths that could better equip us to deal with the unexpected or unfortunate nature of our lives. Some of us have a good amount of these at our disposal, while others often struggle to get through when life sucks. Developing tools is not only possible, but most times the process of gaining them helps us adapt better to situations in the future and increase our confidence overall. This process may be extremely challenging for those who don’t have experience or success in feeling powerful in their own lives, but things can get better. Here are a few ways to improve on increasing your strength:

Surround yourself with fantastic people. It doesn’t matter if that means joining a social group, charitable organization, or hanging out in places where you can make new friends. Working with other people that foster a sense of collaboration, teamwork, friendship, and bonding can reinforce the importance of connection to other people while giving us opportunities to work on communication skills, face our awkwardness, and a reinforce our commitment to working towards enjoying our lives. Through these interactions, we have the opportunity to increase problem-solving skills and gain confidence that we are capable of changing our own lives.

Develop a strong supportive social network. This is extremely important. It gives you the opportunity to reach out for feedback, a backup, or a kick in the ass. It also reminds us that we’re not alone and have those who care about our wellbeing.

Take time to search for strengths you already possess. You may have lost touch with them due to feeling overwhelmed or beat down. Sometimes, counselors or close friends are great at helping us remember them. This can increase self-awareness and confidence.

Use humor, positivity, conviction, empathy, and flexibility. Having these in your toolbox can help develop a strong sense of identity and worth, self-esteem, and confidence about bouncing back successfully in spite of life’s obstacles.

Don’t give up. Find methods to tap into your strengths or take the initiative to create them. Regardless, it takes initiative, energy, and power to incorporate them into our lives. Consider all of the assets we possess that can support our ideas that we are powerful, driven, and worthy of so much in our lives including happiness, success, and love.

Like many things, these strengths can be learned by a process not unlike how most of us learned to ride a bike. Similarly, it’s important to find people who can give you suggestions about how to develop skills, support you when you try out new things, and hug you when things don’t work out according to plan. Much like riding a bike, there may be some scrapes and bruises as you learn to navigate the process, but put on your crash helmet and get ready to start peddling.