Coaching is about being resilient.  It is about having a level of resilience to keep our team moving forward.  It looks like us using our strongest coaching skills to pause, problem-solve, and persevere.  It is about regulating, reflecting, and reframing.  We build our resilience when we lean on a team/partner and take risks.  We build our resilience by accepting what is out of our control and reaching out to someone for help.  In this episode of IGNITE we will discuss five ways to ignite our Champion Resilience.

There are five ways to strengthen our resilience.  Let’s start with ACCEPTANCE.  When we are in a challenging situation, our brain files through all previous challenges to determine the next move.  If this is a challenge that is bigger than or different than what we have ever experienced, we first have to accept.  We have to acknowledge that this is tough.  We have to decide what is in our control and what is the responsibility of others.  We accept that we cannot control some things in the challenge, sometimes including the challenge itself.  We accept that we are human, they are human, we make mistakes, and they make mistakes.  We accept the experience is stressful and that we need to adapt, not run for the hills.  To build our Champion Resilience, we practice accepting and reconsidering the situation before us.

When we POSITIVELY RECONSIDER a challenge, we strengthen our brain’s resiliency to look adversity in the eye and say, “I see you THIS way.  I see my positive supports that help me get through you.”  As difficult and horrible COVID times were, we had teams with more participation because zoom practices fit into everyone’s schedule and kept everyone healthy.  We had a team experience a young and fit coach have a heart attack during one of their practices.  A fellow coach, who works in the healthcare field, kept his heart beating and lungs breathing for the few minutes it took the fire department, just a block away, to arrive.  That day, the team of 15+ girls had enough coaches and parents on site who provided comfort, support, love, and concern that built everyone’s resiliency to scary, life-threatening circumstances.  That day, something horrific happened in the midst of knowledgeable, experienced, and overly-protective coaches, friends, and family.  That challenging circumstance also resulted in a stronger and more resilient team that saw EVERY coach at the 5K, including the one who had the heart attack.  The resilience is found in the positives of the experience.  When we reframe the event with the positive supports that are present and in place, we feel less burdened and more empowered to look it in the eye and say, “You can’t stop me!”  We build our Champion Resilience when we practice positively reconsidering difficult situations and choosing to see the silver lining that makes us stronger.

When we show up for ourselves with shifting SELF-CARE and VALUED ACTIVITIES, we empower ourselves and strengthen who we truly are.  The phrase, “Each day is a new day” holds true to who we are in each new day.  We are not the same person we were yesterday.  Yesterday’s experiences formed us for today’s new challenges.  The special ice cream treat we have to lick hurt wounds, does not always soothe the pain every time our heart hurts.  Sometimes it is the long walk or run we decide to take at the last minute when our schedule opened up unexpectedly, that settles the agitation and calms the spirit.  Our self-care must shift with our new moods, attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and challenges we experience each new day.  Incorporating valued activities into our daily life strengthens our heart, mind, and soul.  The smallest valued activity like writing a love note to a child or loved one can hold a multitude of self-care value that builds our Champion Resilience strength.  Participating in activities that have deep meaning and value empowers us at our core for the challenging moments that adjust our life.

Growing our resilience requires us to MAKE ADJUSTMENTS when adjustments are made to our life.  Life is challenging.  This is most likely the truest, most honest statement to leave anyone’s lips or fingers.  From infancy we face challenges daily.  From basic needs being met to house and car titles being obtained.  From regulating our own emotions to helping regulate other people’s emotions.  From deadlines to grocery lines, roadblocks to road trips.  Life is challenging and requires resilience to conquer the quest.  What we are willing to do in the challenging circumstances is determined by our level of resilience at that moment.  How willing are we to take a risk?  How do we adapt to an uncomfortable change?  How do we keep going when the outcome is uncertain?  Practice making adjustments with small actions and big intentions.  Being comfortable with making adjustments strengthens our ability to “roll with the punches” in our homes, jobs, circles, and practices.  Our Champion Resilience is built up with each new life adjustment we choose to make.  

Resiliency is how we react to stress, setbacks, and change.  Building our resilience can feel much like walking through a haunted house.  We cannot chose the chicken exit and expect growth from the challenge that is set before us.  We take it one step at a time, sometimes fiercely hanging onto someone who loves us, facing the obscure unknown, determined to open a door and see the beautiful light of day or night again… eventually.  Our Champion Resilience is walking, jogging, skipping, and running our team across the finish line in the upcoming week.  Our Champion Resilience moves mountains so that we can continue to change our world one girl at a time!

WATCH HOW TO IGNITE YOUR CHAMPION RESILIENCE

Shayla A is the Coach Mentor for Girls on the Run Greater Kansas City.  Her background comes from the classroom, coaching, day treatment schools, wellness, and advocating for children with special needs.  She enjoys empowering and advocating for girls and coaches in every challenge and celebration.  Connect with her for support and assistance this season via call, text, or email.  shaylaaranda@gmail.com | 816-284-9770  

RESOURCE LIST TO IGNITE YOUR CHAMPION RESILIENCE:

• I Am Courage: A Book About Resilience by Susan Verde
• Resilience by Jayneen Sanders
• Rules of Resilience by Valorie Burton
• The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience by Aditi Nerurkar, MD