Personal Growth & Resilience

Whether it's overcoming obstacles, setting new goals, or identifying areas for self-improvement, we all have opportunities to grow. Resilience, despite what many think, is a learned skill.  

RESOURCES 

Blocks to Taking in the Good - We can all experience blocks to taking in the good in our life. This resource reviews some of the blocks you might be experiencing and ways you can address them. 

Carol Dweck: The power of believing that you can improve - Carol Dweck researches “growth mindset” — the idea that we can grow our brain's capacity to learn and to solve problems. In this talk, she describes two ways to think about a problem that’s slightly too hard for you to solve. Are you not smart enough to solve it … or have you just not solved it yet? 

Every Person Has Infinite Worth - From Dr. Kent Hoffman, a Spokanite: each of us carries within the gift of infinite worth. Find out what that means for us to walk in relationship with others with a new sense of interconnectedness. 

Fostering Resilience.  Adapted from The Positive Youth Development movement, focusing on the 7’cs of resilience can help foster your growth and ability to overcome: competence, confidence, connection, character, contribution, coping, and control.  

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance - Leaving a high-flying job in consulting, Angela Duckworth took a job teaching math to seventh graders in a New York public school. She quickly realized that IQ wasn't the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. Here, she explains her theory of "grit" as a predictor of success. 

Getting Stuck in the Negatives - This talk is all about understanding how people think, and how they can think better. Learn how certain ways of thinking about an issue tend to stick in people's heads. 

Reflections on Rejections - "At some point in your life, you have been, or will be, rejected." Abigail Lipson's compilation of personal stories of rejections and the opportunities that sprung from those rejections can help you see the silver lining in any rejection. 

The Surprising Science of Happiness - Dan Gilbert, author of "Stumbling on Happiness," challenges the idea that we’ll be miserable if we don’t get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don’t go as planned. 

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times - A collection of talks given by author Pema Chödrön, the book is a treasury of wisdom for going on living when we are overcome by pain and difficulties. 

APPS 

Happier - Helps you stay more present and positive throughout the day. Use it like your personal mindfulness coach--use it to lift your mood, take a quick meditation pause, or capture and savor the small happy moments that you find in your day. Free on Android and iTunes. 

Happify - How you feel matters. Whether you're feeling sad, anxious and stressed, or you're dealing with constant negative thoughts, Happify brings you effective tools and programs to take control of your emotional well-being. Free on Android and iTunes. 

Coach.Me - Free tracking tools to help you set and achieve goals. Review your progress and celebrate milestones you achieve. Free on iTunes.