My Greatest Strength is My Ability to Bounce Back…

Hello #GloGetters !

Today we are discussing a topic that I am well qualified to discuss. That is, my friend, the art of the bounce back.

Phew.

If you know me, you know I have been through some STUFF. Haven’t we all? However, not everyone has learned how to turn obstacles into opportunities and losses into lessons. It’s really not something they teach in school, but no worries! That’s why I’m here with today’s post. Let’s get into it!

Mastering The Art of The Bounce Back: Five Simple Ways

1. Laugh At Yourself.

The more you read my posts, the more you will realize I do this quite often. I believe being able to laugh at yourself is a necessity for joy. It takes the pressure off of yourself to be perfect and also allows you to own your mistakes, misfortunes, and anything else that may happen to you that is outside of your control. A great example of this is when I ran into the guy I was dating on a date with another woman. Of course, I felt like I was crawling out of my skin when I first noticed them, but referencing my “Main Character Effect” post, seeing myself as the main character in a romance dramedy, I couldn’t help but laugh. Like what are the odds?????!! It was unfortunate because I really liked the guy and of course I wouldn’t want to see that, but that moment of humor and humility allowed me to accept the fact that we’re both single. Obviously, neither of us wants to actually see each other on dates with other people, but we know we’re doing it. Even better, because I was able to quickly bounce back in that moment I didn’t do or say anything dumb. Fast forward a couple of weeks, he actually ran into me on a date and we were both able to laugh about it together. I promise, the bad things don’t have to be that bad.

2. Ask yourself, “What Can I Learn from This Experience?”

Sometimes unfortunate life events and failures can feel like major losses. By asking ourselves where we can learn something or grow from the unfortunate situation, we naturally turn the loss into a win. Into the best kind of win of all… A LESSON. My uncle once gave me some amazing advice about this exact thing. He said to me, “Football players never go back and review the tapes when they’ve won a game. When they win, they go and have a pizza party to celebrate. But when they lose, they’re right back in that locker room learning from their errors to see where they can improve. That’s when the team actually becomes a great team. Not when they just win all the time.” This really stuck with me, because it couldn’t be more true. Adversity and failure are hard because they’re uncomfortable, but they are so necessary to our growth. They shape us to be able to handle and appreciate the wonderful things we do have in our lives.

3. Identify What You Do Have Control Over in the Situation.

Sometimes when we are faced with adversity or a tough situation, there are things we actually do have control over. One always being how we choose to respond to the situation, but in addition to that, there may be other things. If you are facing a hard time due to work-related things, ask yourself if there are ways in your work performance or professional habits you can adjust to better alleviate some of those challenges. You may realize that you have control over putting yourself in a better situation, but it requires you to do something you usually would never do. This is the moment when you have to ask if you’d rather fall victim to the circumstances or fight for a chance to rise above them. It’s always best to rise to the occasion than to allow hardship to weigh you down. Always.

4. Accept That This Moment Does NOT Define You.

You have to remind yourself that whatever your situation may be, it is temporary. Everything in this lifetime is. If you constantly remind yourself that, “this too shall pass,” you will be able to emotionally separate yourself from the problem sooner and gain clarity on what the solution may need to look like.

5. Instead of Asking, “Why Me?” Ask “Why NOT Me?”

TW: Miscarriage

My cousin gave me this insight shortly after healing from a horrible and unfortunate miscarriage. She said she would always ask the universe why her, until she reflected on the fact that she’s no different from the millions of women who have also unfortunately gone through similar experiences. Terrible things happen every moment in this lifetime, and we are lucky if we miss most of them. However, we each have our times when we are struck with life events that feel unredeemable and life-altering. There’s no doubt any event that big or traumatic can change your life, but it is up to you to decide if it will change for the better or worse.

6. Throw a Fit or Two if You Need To. Then Move On When You’re Ready.

I never want any of you to believe I am encouraging you to ignore and/or suppress your emotions. Nothing good ever comes of that. Oftentimes the best bounce backs happen after you’ve broken down and feel at rock bottom. When you release and lean into the reality of what you’re feeling as a result of your situation, you’re more likely to fight for better. You have to allow yourself to feel all of the emotions while not allowing the emotions to become a permanent part of you. Expressing how you feel either in private or to trusted loved ones can help you lift some of the pressure off of yourself that better allows you to become proactive and fly.

This is all just a glimpse into my mental and emotional thought process when realizing it’s time for a good bounce back.

I have so many stories from crazy bounce-back moments in my life. Let me know if you’d want to hear them, I am not only good at landing on my feet but also love to tell stories like a grandpa ahaha.