[A] fear-based survival framework for viewing the situation: We filter the external facts through the internal lens of thoughts, feelings, beliefs and body sensations. In this way, our fear creates our reality, locking us in anger, powerlessness, and blame.
Recontextualizing and Reframing
It’s understandable why we might react from fear when facing challenging situations. Mindfulness, however, is a powerful tool that offers the opportunity to make a radical shift in orientation.
Mindfulness is the practice of bringing our awareness to what we are experiencing in the present, both internally and externally, without judgment (Kornfield, 2009). It is a wakeup call to become conscious of the ways we perceive and respond to life’s situations.
We don’t have to meditate to practice being mindful. There are many ways to incorporate mindfulness into our daily lives. As we become increasingly mindful, we can begin to respond from a place of freedom and choice.
In other words, we can act with resilience.
Mindfulness and Resilience
As we become more mindful, we broaden and build several inner resources that help us strengthen our resilience (Fredrickson, 2001). These include:
• Compassion. […]
• Acceptance. […]
• Openness. […]
• Creativity. […]
Living resiliently is more than just “bouncing back.” It is about shifting our perceptions, changing our responses, and learning something new.
Living resiliently represents a whole new way of being and doing. It isn’t just for the hard times — it’s for all times. Empowering us to live, love, and work adventurously in the face of change, it builds a well from which we can draw for the rest of our lives.