Lindz Update - It's been a good week.

The week of November 7th has been good... no major changes, a few days of more awake time during the day, and the appetite remains strong. We're starting to see birthday cards arrive in the mailbox and the display around Lindsey's bed has begun. It's been fun for all of us to see who is following the blog. Lindsey is enjoying looking at the cards and hearing the comments written.

This morning I was catching up on some reading, "HBR's 10 Must Reads - On Managing Yourself." The 2nd article is a subject I've often wondered about "Resilience". Why are some people more resilient? Why is it that some people seem to move rather easily through tough times? Resilient people snap back quickly from dark days... I've often wondered is this a born characteristic or can it be learned? The author of this particular article, "How Re silence Works" claims that one can learn to increase their resilience. The following key points where shared:

Resilient people possess 3 defining characteristics:
* They coolly accept the harsh realities facing them
* They find meaning in terrible times; a deep belief, often buttressed by strongly held values
* They have an uncanny ability to improvise, making do with whatever's hand

The article goes on to talk about how to cultivate resilience. While nothing profound was shared, it was reassuring to read that people can incorporate ways to increase their resilence. Having this skill and the capacity to be robust under conditions of enourmous stress and change can help people be more effective at work and in their personal lives. Two quotes from the article that stood out to me:

We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life even when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed.

Resilient people and companies face reality with staunchness, make meaning of hardship instead of crying out in despair, and improvise solutions from thin air. Others do not. This is the nature of resilience, and we will never completely understand it.

And... if you find that you're in need of developing your resilence you could always sign up for a class at the Hardiness Institute in Newport Beach, CA. An institute that was founded by a University of California, Irvine psychology professor, Salvatore R. Maddi. Who would of guessed that there's an entire institute teaching organizations and people how to develop life skills and attitudes to get them through tough times. :o)

Now off to reading article #3 - Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time. - How to significantly increase capacity to get things done. This should be helpful as I've been challenged in this area lately....to many distractions.

Have a great week and thanks for checking in.