A Daily Challenge for our Readers

To our dear readers of the Resilience Blog,

I would like to set you a challenge. I have noticed that many of my clients turn to quotes that truly touch them in times of crisis. Many people keep books of quotes or put them on their walls or put post-its all over the house. Below is a list of ten of my favourite quotes and they have helped me both in therapy and in my personal life. I ask you to go reflect on each quote individually across ten days; one quote per day. Reflect on the quote, journal your reflections and allow the words to really transform and sit with you. Each day go to the next quote. Enjoy some time put aside for yourself.

1.                                                     Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.

2. “I’m starting with the man in the mirror; I’m asking him to change his ways; and no message could have been any clearer; if you wanna make the world a better place; take a look at yourself, and then make a change” – Michael Jackson
3. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” –Mark Twain.
4. “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed” – Michael Jordan.
5. “I’ve learnt that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear” – Nelson Mandela
6. “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love” – Mother Teresa

7. “Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habit.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny”
– Lao Tzu (philosopher and poet of ancient China)

8. “Fake it till you become it” – Amy Cuddy (her fantastic TED talk below)

9. “Vulnerability is not about fear and grief and disappointment, it is the birthplace of everything we’re hungry for” – Brene Brown (her mind blowing TED talk below)

10. “THIS is how IT IS
NOT how it was,
NOT how it might have been,
NOT how it should have been.

Not how I wanted it to be.
Not how I hoped it would be.
Not how I planned would be.

But I accept that THIS is how IT IS.
Now I will get on with my life as best I can.”

– Psychologist Antony Kidman, given as advice for his daughter Nicole during separation from Tom Cruise.

All the best with your challenge!