It is important to be aware of and leverage the power of a healthy mind and body, by consciously reviving it, because when nourished properly, this could be the biggest weapon in the fight against any adversity. Contrary to the normal reaction of dealing with adversity, if one can re-think the role of a well-trained mind and an energized body, facing it with an inherent optimism, becomes possible. And here are some simple ways to achieve this.

1. Engage in Physical Activity: Mild to intense physical activities have been known to directly impact one’s mood and how one chooses to respond to adversity. Activities could be anything what one likes such as going to a gym, dancing, swimming, running, or walking etc. Apart from energizing one’s body, it also releases feel good hormones that nurture a feeling of optimism and wellbeing, thus helping fight off thoughts of hopelessness, despair, and anxiety.

2. Practice Yoga: As one of the oldest and most popular forms of eastern healing and wellness practice, originating in India, Yoga offers a multitude of healing practices for regenerative and preventive wellbeing. From basic yogic techniques, specialised exercises, highly evolved breathing techniques such as pranayama, cleansing and detoxifying practices, meditation, and ayurveda based healthy diet and massage therapies, yoga has been known to re-energize and heal mind and body. Practicing yoga on a regular basis can be transformative.

3. Increase Nutrition: One of the most effective ways to revive mind and body and maintain long term health is to have a balanced and nutritious diet because what we put in our bodies eventually become us! There are many ways to improve nutrition for our body such as   alkaline diet, herbal diet, fresh fruits, and vegetables, etc.

4. Nourish the Soul: While there are many ways to revive and rehabilitate the mind and body, the most effective ones are which come from the soul. Music, Art, Friends, Family, Pets, and doing the things we love the most, helps to not only relieve stress but also helps reinvent the way one thinks, enhance optimistic thoughts, and create memories that can be cherished and be a source of hope for the future. Music especially has been used since ancient times as a tool for rehabilitation, to sooth and promote an overall sense of wellbeing. In recent times though, frequency-based music helps you sleep better and thus assists in alleviating anxiety and stress.

5. Reinvent a new life: By letting go of old, non-productive habits, negative thought processes, judgments, discovering new hobbies, focusing on simple and healthy lifestyle, nurturing a flower garden or anything that helps create a sense of reimagining one’s talents to create a more fulfilling life and people who have been holding us back, can be a liberating feeling and helps one in reinventing themselves.

Practicing the above daily can help one to not only overcome adversity but to also transform completely. The pandemic has increased the focus on preventive and regenerative wellness, and it is time that we adopt a long term and holistic approach to health. By experimenting and adopting these simple yet transformative ways one can systematically combat negativity and revive one’s mind and body.

Sameer Bhide is a stroke survivor and an author of an award-winning transformational memoir One Fine Day in which he shares his experiences and lessons learned which helped him overcome his adversities. He wanted to help people facing adversities and found a way to write his memoir while recovering.

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Listed here are the five hallmarks of Resilience that can go a long way in helping one build a self-motivated and strong life.

1. Create a healthy routine: It is important to achieve healthy and balanced routine that allows adequate time to work, rest and socialize. Routines help build consistency and stability in life and impacts the mental and emotional well-being of a person and creates a positive environment. A well-planned routine helps you be productive, help to develop a purpose, and a sense of accomplishment in daily life.

2. Nurture close relationships: As a social and cognitive species, relationships, and the way we respond to situations matter a lot to our mental wellbeing and sense of security. The pandemic has already taught us the fragility of life and made us realize the value of friends and family. Nurturing relationships, either through in-person meetings or through video calling etc., is important to build a social and emotional support system. Bonds like these help one in building emotional strength, resilience, and hope, in the face of gloom and uncertainty.

3. Develop self-awareness: One of the most important aspects of building resilience and staying flexible and strong to manage life’s challenges is to develop self-awareness through the practice of meditation. It is as important to keep a check on one’s own mental health, as it is to assess one’s own strengths and weaknesses and work on them. In these grim times, it is easy to fall prey to negative thought patterns and surround oneself with constant thoughts of gloom or hopelessness resulting in destructive behaviour. One need to be able to identify these patterns in time and embark on activities that may help ease these disturbances and start working towards a more constructive approach, with determination. And this cannot happen without being self-aware of our own reactions to the environment around.

4. Develop self-love and compassion: The next crucial step to build resilience is to create a positive relationship with oneself, through the practice of self-love and compassion. Eliminating deep rooted forms of guilt or negativities can hamper one’s idea of self-worth and thus become a hindrance to building real self-confidence. Practicing self-acceptance and spending some alone time daily consciously helps reduce negative, self-sabotaging thoughts and patterns and can go a long way in creating intrinsic strength. And these can be done by cultivating a new hobby or engaging in positive social conversations and build a sense of growth. Self-help groups, volunteering, bonding with someone who might have gone through a similar trauma as you etc., can all be very motivating and helpful in practicing self-love. A proper focus on physical wellbeing through regular exercises, healthy diet, and a good sleep routine, are also an integral part of self-love.

5. Cultivate Forgiveness: As much as self-love and compassion are important to build inner strength, so is love shown towards others. Our relationship with self is often reflected in our relationship with others. And forgiving friends, family, and others and not hold any grudges can go a long way in building positive engagement patterns throughout all human interactions, which in turn help nourish the mind with self- assured positivity, peace of mind and self-worth, while making the world a better place.

Storms do not last forever and being resilient helps you face and overcome your challenges.

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