Strengthening our Resilience Muscles


Hey Reader!

Have you felt overwhelmed this year? Maybe even this week you’re feeling a little exhausted and maybe even a little burned out?

I had a conversation with Dr. Melissa Ewing recently about how we can build resilience (the capacity to withstand or to recovery quickly from difficulty). She provides some really practical tips:

  1. Renew your mind - The majority of our thoughts every day are negative and even untrue (aka “automatic negative thoughts” A.N.T.s) When that happens, we must intentionally tell ourselves the truth in order to create new neural pathways. Meditating on scripture is a great way to retrain your brain.
  2. Refocus your heart - Have you just allowed resentment or a bad attitude to creep into your everyday rhythms? Stop right now and think about how you arrived there. Don’t justify it. Just be honest about it. Then, figure out how you can choose to have a positive attitude. Beginning your day with a worship song is a good way to start to shift that daily negativity.
  3. Recharge your body - How you take care of your body affects your mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Drink an extra glass of water and take a walk outside and intentionally notice the beauty of God’s creation around you. You’ll feel better immediately!
  4. Rest your spirit - No one drifts into deeper relationship with God. We must pursue it and He promises He will draw near to us. This doesn’t mean read more, study more, pray more. It actually just means notice Him more. Connect with Him more.

Melissa even said…”When you just don’t know what to do, just BREATHE AND BE STILL.” Psalms 46 tells to “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.”

Even if you don’t notice a quick shift in your sense of overwhelm, over time, these small changes actually form you more and more into a person who portrays the image of God more accurately.

Which one habit will you adjust this week? Hit reply and let us know!

Cheering you on this week!

-Your ECCN team

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