I lost my Grandmother in June. Needless to say, the last few months have been tough. Heck the last couple years have been tough, but I believe I am better, stronger, wiser because of the struggles. I got through a global pandemic, changing the way I work, the loss of close family and friends, economy shifts, a lot of stuff… but on the other side of it – I am still here smiling, laughing and enjoying life.

If you look up the definition of Resilient or Resilience you will see a lot of different meanings:

• An ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.
• The ability to return to original shape after being pulled, stretched, pressed, or bent
• Being able to withstand or recover quickly from difficulty
• Adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy threats or significant sources of stress

However you define it there are key components: stress or trauma, pushing or pulling, and recovering. 

I’ll share with you some ways I build and maintain resilience:

I surround myself with great people. For real, if your circle isn’t lifting you up, you should look for another circle. My friends and family or FRAMILY as I call them, is crucial to my wellness. They are there for me when the bad stuff happens and stick with me through it. 

I take care of myself when the tough gets going. Sometimes it’s a nap, exercise, have a good cry, a dance break, meditation, or prayer. I find some way to center myself and show myself some love. 

Knowing my greater purpose helps me tremendously. I have big dreams and goals so I knew there would be heartache and pain in my journey. I knew I would have failures and losses. I expected some rain. It’s all a part of my success story. I know I am destined for greatness, so I take the bad when it comes, knowing the good is sure to follow.

Enduring all the stress and trauma can be overwhelming. As strong as I am, I also knew I couldn’t face these challenges alone. I asked for help when I needed it. I accepted help when I didn’t know I needed it. Getting through doesn’t have to mean getting through solo. I reached out my hands to get the support I needed, and it helped.

And when it comes down to it, I can only control so much. Bad things, change, tragedy, suffering will happen. I had to come to grips with what I was able to tackle and what I needed to leave up to the universe. That released a lot of weight from my shoulders of thinking I had to do it all. I don’t.  I can't. Some things are out of my control, thank goodness.

When I created the original collections for my business, I knew I wanted something related to strength and the Resilient Collection was born.

Today is my Grandmother’s birthday. She would have turned 85 today. She was kind, smart, beautiful, and RESILIENT. My resilience comes from her and a long line of strong women like her. She endured a lot in her near 85 years of life. So, when the crap creeps into my life, I lean into the good parts of me, from her, and endure. 

I hope you will take time today to think of all the things that make you resilient, all the resilient people in your life and how you can build up resilience. 

Check out the products in our Resilient Collection for inspiration.