Mind Your Body TV Episode 29 with Carol Orsborn, Ph.D.
I’m getting better at listening to myself, a still-developing skill I owe in part to the discussion I had here with Carol Orsborn, Ph.D. She’s a businesswoman, theologian, motivational speaker, boomer generation expert and the author of 25 books. She’s also full of life and full of tips on how to lead a better, more fulfilling life and how you can strengthen resilience.
I remembered what she said when I recently encountered one of the most unusual situations of my career. It was one in which—no matter what I did—the “other side” couldn’t hear me and the messages from “over there” became more conflicting and confusing, wasting my time and distracting me from my goals. I called upon some of the principles Dr. Orsborn explains in this video.
Let it go and walk away, I said to myself. And I did.
“Surrender the notion that you have control over life when things keep coming at us,” she says. When bad things happen—and they will—embrace your powerlessness, she writes in a recent blog on her site, www.FiercewithAge.com. Here’s her book of the same name.
It is a basic tenet of spirituality—and spirituality is work, she says. No one said what’s really valuable in life comes easily.
Everyone faces difficulties
Among baby boomers, especially super-achievers, many have been fortunate enough to “float” through their earlier decades without too much “drama.” “But nobody gets into their 50s or 60s without something spinning out of control,” says Dr. Orsborn.
That’s where resilience comes into play, the ability to bounce back when the sand castle tumbles down. Take a breath and then take a walk. Trust your unconscious mind, and be open to that breakthrough that helps you figure out what to do next. Ask yourself, “How can I be less stressed about this issue?”
Resilient to the core
In doing so, you’re building your “core strength,” and Dr. Orsborn doesn’t mean just beefing up your abs. It’s a quality that can be learned and nurtured, that will help your spirit remain intact as you age and endure other hardships. It will help you adapt to adversity, focus on your gains instead of losses, and rebound gracefully and productively when you knock heads with forces beyond your control.
Finally, remember, says Dr. Orsborn: You can’t always stop the bad things from happening—but you can’t stop the good things, either.
I think this video will put more good tools in your resilience arsenal. Watch Dr. Orsborn as she introduces a remarkable inter-faith service that can make families stronger in this Mind Your Body TV video.
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(Photo courtesy: © Rita Richter | Dreamstime.com)