Exploring Resilience via Lifes Burning Issues

Tag: Resilience (Page 10 of 13)

Running on empty

Running on Empty - Jackson Browne - photo by Hectorir @flickr

Running on empty?

Running on empty – Jackson Brownes lyrics said it all…

I had been running around shuttling the family from one place to another and  finally got around to heading home to pack the car and take the family away for the weekend to unwind.

Running on Empty

All was going great until I got about 5 km’s away from home and then the car STOPPED…………The fuel gauge in this picture is what I was confronted by……EMPTY!

After a long walk to and from the service station to get more fuel, and then taking quite a while for the fuel pump to decide that it wanted to actually re-prime and pump enough fuel to start the car we finally headed off for our weekend….. a couple of hours later than we should have. Needless to say we got to our destination VERY late and the first night was a write off.

The fuel gauge as a metaphor

That day was not an atypical day for my family… running around from appointment to appointment, trying to maintain being on time and looking forward to the next thing on the agenda wondering how/when we are going to get there.

On the way home I looked at the fuel gauge and thought… yep that will be enough to get us home and around to purchase some fuel… WRONG!

Over the days following my embarrassing episode of running out of fuel I really started to think about that fuel gauge as a metaphor for life.

Watching your fuel gauge

Cars are built with fuel gauges so we can see how much is left in the tank, in fact most even modernish cars have a warning light and/or buzzer that tells you that you are getting low on fuel.

You and I on the other hand are not built with a gauge… and we have to try and look at our physical, mental, emotional and social fuel tanks and try and monitor them all at once.

How often have you been running around, getting from appointment to appointment, looking at yourself and thinking, “yeah, I’ll just keep going at this pace until…..”  What is that until?

Until the weekend, until your next holidays are due, until… until… until…

Until your physical, mental, emotional and social fuel tanks fuel tanks are empty and you breakdown on the side of your desk, you are worn out and you haven’t seen your family or friends in how long?

Warning signs?

Even though we aren’t built with gauges to flash or buzz at us when our tanks are getting low there are often warnings signs that your levels are being depleted…..

Some of us are better at seeing and paying attention to those warning signs than others….. let’s help out a few others by listing what your warning signs are in the comments….

How to choose your parachute!

Standing ready to jump at 20,000 feet

Thinking about doing something…… maybe starting your own blog, maybe starting your new business, maybe doing a new task. Does it feel like you are at 15-20,000 feet looking out of a plane and not sure if  it is time to step out or not!

Wondering if that package strapped to your back that they call a parachute is really going to open?

Going skydiving is in my bucket list….. but I have not taken that plunge yet!, and maybe in the back of my head it is because I am not really sure if I have faith in a sheet of material stopping me from going SPLAT!  But I do know how to choose a parachute… find out how below

The Inspiration

This post is inspired by a conversation with someone and contemplating taking the jump about launching a new project, a new direction in life.

The Parachute that never fails

It was a perfect example of how in life  we are often confronted with situations which feel like we might as well be standing in that plane contemplating the jump. The difference in life is we all have one parachute that WILL always open. That parachute is your community.

Why can I say this with conviction…. because it has been proven over and over again. The story behind how I got to doing this blog and the formation of the Samuel Morris Foundation are prime examples of a community rallying behind someone standing on the precipice and in every disaster we see communities rally around to support people who need assistance. Communities support people in a multitude of ways every day, more often than not in unseen and often unacknowledged ways.

There are many terrific examples of communities supporting each other. I am part of a few communities out here in the interweb thingy… BUT communities are full of amazing people who either directly or indirectly are having a significant influence on what I am doing, not just here at the blog, but in my other undertakings and in life in general.

Sometimes we can feel like we are all alone and that nobody really gets where we are at.  In reality, we are all part of many communities, and those communities are full of people who are ready and willing to support you in growing and taking those chances that have you scared and wondering if you are really prepared to jump or not.

How do we choose our parachute?

We already have in many ways, our parachutes are our relationships with the people and places that we hang out with and in, they are the people and places that we have invested our time and energy in, they are the people and places who we have helped out in the past, and who may have helped us out in the past.

We are not limited to only those communities, as there are also many new communities like the ones mentioned above that are waiting for you to find them. These are communities of people and places that are full of information and advice we need to help us succeed, and full of potential relationships that could change our lives forever.

Regardless of whether it is a community that we are already a part of or a community of which we are wishing to become a member they are a community because they share desirable characteristics with us and if we spend time building relationships within those communities they make a parachute that is guaranteed never to fail us.

Who represents your parachute?

It would be great to share some examples of parachutes that have prevented us from going SPLAT and created a soft landing for us. So let us know in the comments who represents your parachute.

image by Ian Plumb

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