Help others to be resilient
In the weeks ahead, call on the resilience you have within yourself to stay well and positive.
And help others to be resilient.
You need no more than the ability to listen, show understanding and be prepared to share your own experiences.
Either you choose to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out into the ocean.
Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve, the late actor who died in 2004, was probably best known as Superman in the four movies he made. He had a life changing horse riding acccident in 2002 that left him paralysed. Even before this he endured some difficult health related problems, including a severe allergy to horses!
After his accident he had many obstacles to overcome during his road to rehabilitation. Until his death he was an advocate and champion for several causes. He wrote and spoke about his disability. He helped many with their resilience directly, and as a role model.
For me it is how he framed what he spoke about that echos how resilience works.
Because helping others with their resilience means revealing and sharing something about ourselves and what has affected us, how we are coping, perhaps a technique or approach.
Reeve also clearly believed that this includes taking a risk. That we don’t avoid difficult stuff. We leave the shallows. We tackle what is hard and find ways to overcome it.
We all have powers within us that we don’t know exist until we’re tested.
How to help others
In the weeks of autumn lockdown everyone can help someone to be resilient. These are tried and tested actions that require a bit of reaching out from the shallows.
share experiences and how you solve difficult situations
discuss and swap resilience techniques
learn a grounding technique for in the moment stress
offer support, ask for support - two-way works
if you find yourself with someone who needs a boost: listen, re-assure, point to sources of support (say if you are at work and have an EAP or intranet of resources), ask helpful questions (don’t tell or give advice), acknowledge it’s a tough time, share something helpful
share yourself and give your time
If you’d like some wellbeing or resilience training or coaching, get in touch. I’m here to help and have a wide expanse of resources, techniques and tools to share. An hour of wellbeing coaching could be just the boost you need.