It is back to school season, but most of us are not going back to school. Teachers have selected books and planned curriculum. School supplies are on sale.  What if you are not a student this year? Fall can still be a time to venture into new learnings.  

One aspect of resilience is recovering from a difficult event.  Learning allows you to dig into skills you need to prevent that from happening again, or you can explore a topic that brings you joy. Another aspect of resilience is getting through difficult times. (We are all here at some level.) Creating a learning plan gives you a focus that is within your control and can help you move forward in your life goals. 

What do you need to learn to boost your resilience?  Consider the challenges you are facing and do a little research about what would leave you better able to manage your life. This may be learning new info or building habits to boost your resilience. 

Look ahead to this next year – what might challenge your ability to be resilient? How can you educate yourself to be better prepared? As you do this I want you to try a trick – think about yourself in the third person.

• “What does …(insert your name here)… need to learn more about?”
• “What knowledge would help …(insert your name here)… be prepared for the challenges ahead?”

This is not about “shoulds.” It is very easy to find yourself dropping into self-blame and meeting other people’s expectations. The goal is to decide for yourself what would help you be more resilient. 

Between the internet and the public library system you can access so much information!  There are also experts who will spend some time giving you pointers or heading you in a direction that helps.  

Off the top of my head here are some topics I have educated myself about over the years: 

• Law – Business, personal, educational. 
• Finances – How credit cards, investment strategies, or debt management work. 
• Medical/health – Sleep, nutrition, exercise, medical concerns.  
• Beauty/peace – Not world peace – your peace.  
• Perspective/Knowledge – A broadening or deepening of the things you think about.  
• Resilience! – Keep reading our blogs. 

Your resilience increases as you have more information to work with in the important areas of your life. Learning the basics in a new area gives you the vocabulary and framework to learn from others. Building your knowledge allows you to make better decisions. Exploring history, art, and fiction literally increases the connections in your brain expanding your ability to creatively approach life.  

Another aspect of going back to school is interaction with others. Teachers and students, colleagues and study partners. Once you have considered what you might like to learn this year share it with someone else. You could take a class on a topic, partner with a friend who wants to learn the same thing or start a small group to discuss the ideas. When we share our ideas, we learn them at a whole new level.  

What is one thing you could learn in the next year that will help you boost your resilience?  

I will host a conversation about this topic on September 8th at noon online. Watch for that link in your email. (If you are not getting this blog post by email sign up at www.LearnModelTeach.com to be on the mailing list so you see all notifications.) I look forward to talking then! 

Peace, Laura