Resiliency- Even Costco is Talking About It!
What does it mean to be resilient?
Merriam-Webster defines resilience as the ability of something to return to its original size and shape after being compressed or deformed, or to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change.”
Previously thought of as the ability to bounce back after facing something difficult, resilience is at the heart of our dedication to building trauma-informed communities through Resilient Northeast Georgia, a special project fund focused on empowering and resourcing communities to grow greater resilience!
So what does the Athens Area Community Foundation and Costco have in common? We both look at resilience a little bit differently.
We believe that resilience can serve as a catalyst for transformational growth. In an article published in Costco’s monthly publication, Costco Connection, resilience is defined as “the ability to face challenge, change, and complexity in a way that ultimately enhances us, not diminishes us”. Simply put: it’s not “bouncing back” to where we were in before facing adversity, but more accurately “bouncing forward” to a new state, having been changed as a result of the experience of adversity.
Resilience is not a static state, nor is it something that is attained easily. It requires
vulnerability, perseverance, a deep connection to others, gratitude and generosity, and a belief in the possibility of what a transformational state may bring.
So how can we work together to empower resilience in our communities? Start small and find a way to build a daily resiliency practice into your routine!
- Wake up thinking about what or who you’re grateful for and send silent gratitude to that person.
- Send a text, make a call, or write a note to someone you’re grateful for.
- Focus on being present physically and mentally across small moments of your day where you’d normally disconnect. Do you scroll Facebook before dinner? Try to replace 5 minutes of scrolling with time to make a connection with someone in your life.
- Try to notice one new thing in your environment every day. Pay closer attention to the mundane things you see everyday and see what stands out that you never noticed before.
- Greet at least one person every day as if you haven’t seen them for a month—with enthusiasm and energy.
- Come to a trauma-informed training session presented by the Athens Area Community Foundation!
Read the full article now at https://www.costcoconnection.com/january_2024/page4.html
