In 2010, the devastating Haiti earthquakes got everyone’s attention. I was talking to a friend and she was very concerned about the sanitation and wondering how people would survive after the earthquake. A very natural answer came out of my mouth: “exactly how they were surviving before”.
The devastation has been a problem for ages! Children and grown-ups have been famished and crumbling in poverty.
When they found someone who survived 27 days under the rubble after being injured, with no food and no water, no one could believe how it could be possible. You see, for someone who has never missed a meal involuntarily, 3 days may seem an eternity and an impossible without food.
For someone who has skipped many meals and has constantly gone days without, that is not the case. Trust me. I have been there.
Take this quote by Napoleon Hill:
“The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It’s the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.”
It is not fun to starve, but after a while, your body kind of gets used to it. Better yet, you gain insight as to how much food costs and how valuable it is to your body. You learn to appreciate and see the positive. You really appreciate the taste.
When I miraculously survived a horrid accident, I was not thinking about how it happened and how I broke more than 16 bones in my body. I was just happy to be alive. I was just excited to breathe again. I enjoy my breaths way more than someone who has never been in a coma. To me, that is the gift of resilience.
Resilience allows us to withstand adversity, but it also helps us have a particularly positive attitude about overcoming. Faith is the main ingredient, and then, there is gratitude.
For me, it’s so easy to say “if I survived… x …, I can definitely do this” (too many examples!). Having a sense of achievement and overcoming will help us to have a positive outlook on life. Celebrating our triumph over seemingly impossible situations. Having faith in our Creator, in ourselves, and in humankind, will allow us to see that triumph as possible.
I have been given the gift of resilience. But so have you! You don’t have to experience things firsthand to learn from them. Learn from Haiti. Learn how they survive in such conditions. Learn how they still dance and smile. Learn how they embrace life. They may have no food but they do have hope. If it’s possible for them, it’s possible for you.
As hard as the task may seem, say to yourself: it’s possible, it’s achievable, I can do it. It’s been done before and under harder circumstances.
“Struggl[ing] for our existence”, trials, challenges, are part of life. They are beautiful experiences that give us the gift of resilience, which in turn will help our positive outlook and increase our gratitude for the lessons we learn and the character we develop.
I am thankful for my gift of resilience, for my ability to endure, for the God-given strength I have been blessed with when I couldn’t reach my own.
Have you seen the gift of Resilience at work in your life?
Founder of the Positive MOM® and creator of the S.T.O.R.Y. System: a blueprint to craft and share powerful stories that will transform your results and help others do the same. Dr. Elayna Fernández is a single mom of 4, an award-winning Storyteller, Story Strategist, and Student of Pain. She’s a bestselling author, internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, and 5x TEDx speaker. She has spoken at the United Nations, received the President’s Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award, and was selected as one of the Top Impactful Leaders and a Woman of Influence by SUCCESS Magazine. Connect with Elayna at thepositivemom.com/ef and follow @thepositivemom. To receive a gift from Elayna, click HERE.
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