by Veta Wade, May 2021, Guest blogger:
You’ve probably heard the saying, “when it rains, it pours”…
Have you noticed this also applies to your business, your purpose or even your personal life. It’s as if the more focused you become it’s, the more the mind blocks and roadblocks appear, and then the negative thoughts and self–talk come flooding in, overwhelming you; you run for cover from the storm, terrified, ashamed, doubtful, anxious, stressed? Who am I? What am I doing here? How dare I think I can….. I should give up. I know, I’ve been there, and sometimes I still go there, but I’ve learned not to get stuck in this spiral for too long.
So, instead of running for cover while the storm builds, what if we developed an effective strategy to embrace these thoughts with compassion? It’s called resiliency. The ability to adapt and bounce back quickly from stress or trauma. It’s what has helped me to keep moving steadily towards my goals, despite making many mistakes and taking a few wrong turns in life, losing friends, nearly going bankrupt, created my own mental dramas, and every day I am riding the waves of being a black, single mom, forging her own path in a white-dominated world of ocean conservation.
I understand that as human beings, we all wish to protect ourselves and our ego from every disappointment, defeat, or scary challenge. It’s not possible! However, we can learn to be resilient.
Here are my top 3 tips to help you become more resilient:
- Pressure test your ideas. You want to know as soon as possible if your idea or project will fail under pressure; the quicker you do, the more resilient you become.
- Journal. This helps me to navigate my thoughts, face my vulnerability and it makes great inspiration and content on your journey to the success you want.
- Spend time outdoors. If you live near the sea, swim, snorkel, dive, or take long walks and hikes often. Time in nature is great at regulating your breathing and clearing the mind so that you can focus on the ‘solutions.’
Bonus: Learn to manage your emotions.
If you can afford to, invest in a spiritual or mindset coach (+ a therapist ). If you are black, there is a whole other set of trauma that we inherited from colonialism that we must also learn to identify and manage, a therapist helps. These self-investments will help us deal with our challenges and disappointments with greater ‘resiliency’ instead of breakdowns, burnouts, feelings of defeat, fear, or worst of all, giving up on our ambitions.
Sending light and positive vibes to you on your journey. You can follow me @vetawade on LinkedIn & Instagram or visit vetawade.com, where I sometimes share my struggles and resiliency stories. Please tag someone who might find this helpful.
About Veta
Veta works with mission-driven, innovators, organizations, and companies to build new bridges with communities that have not yet been invited into the blue innovation sector — she has a passion for connecting black kids to ocean conservation and science through her kid’s ocean club – Fish ‘N Fins Inc. She brings her unique grassroots perspective to startup development and educational programming to encourage radical collaboration in the ocean space.
_______________________________
Veta Wade
Founder Fish ‘n Fins , Consultant – Ocean & Inclusiveness
