I was listening to a speaker who specializes in resiliency training. She told us resilience is the ability to bounce back.
Among the factors that enter into this are goals, intentions, mindset, mental and physical energy. A good reminder to take care of ourselves in all these areas came from her statement, “You are your number one asset.” The part of her presentation I found most interesting had to do with the practice of exercising our minds. I learned that when we do something differently we are creating new neural pathways. This is the equivalent of a gym workout for our brains.
Now, here comes the exciting news. When we exercise our brains we actually burn more calories. An example of this was that walking backwards burns ten times as many calories as walking forwards!
In other words, when I try something new, it’s good for me physically and mentally.
I think of all the times I chose to remain in my safe little comfort zone rather than stretching out of it to try new things. Little did I know how much was at stake. Not only was it more difficult to bounce back from the setbacks in life, I was robbing both my brain and my body of stimulation they needed to keep me healthy.
The next time I’m tempted to play it safe, I think I’ll walk backwards, create some new neural pathways and rethink that decision!
“People who soar are those who refuse to sit back, sigh and wish things would change. They neither complain of their lot nor passively dream of some distant ship coming in. Rather, they visualize in their minds that they are not quitters; they will not allow life’s circumstances to push them down and hold them under.” Charles Swindoll
