“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Viktor Frankl
One thing I know for sure is that we ALL have challenges in life. Yes these challenges or issues from pain to stress to illnesses and losses vary in degrees, however each of us have them. What I have come to learn or remember over the years is how we deal with these challenges depend on the resources we have around and within us.
What is a Resource?
There are a number of definitions of resources, however what I am referring to is –
- “An action or strategy which may be adopted in adverse circumstances.” ~ Oxford Dictionaries and Google
- “a source of supply, support, or aid, especially one that can be readily drawn upon when needed” ~ Dictionary.com
- “A stock or supply of money, materials, staff, and other assets that can be drawn on by a person or organization in order to function effectively.” ~ Oxford Dictionaries
- “Something that is available for use or that can be used for support or help” ~ The Free Dictionary
As you can see by these definitions, there are essentially inner and outer/external resources. Quite often we have limited control over the outer/external resources (i.e. money, friends, watch, family), so I tend to focus on growing inner resources with clients.
Examples of Inner Resources –
Inner resources can be divided in to ‘BEING” mode and also “DOING” mode. There are many examples of inner resources and some of the inner resources you can activate and grow include –
- mindset (for example – a growth mindset over a fixed mindset),
- positive emotions (for example – gratitude and joy),
- attitudes (i.e. openness, curiosity, determination),
- somatic skills (i.e. mindfulness, self-compassion, emotional intelligence), and
- virtues (e.g. generosity, courage, wisdom).
Through my own work and also working with clients, I discovered we have these Inner resources within us. However, over time many of us have forgotten them and/or not accessed them or practised them in a while.
Why Are Inner Resources Important?
As you know, I am passionate about wellbeing. And just so we know the significance of inner resources in relation to wellbeing Dodge et al (2012), wrote the following on wellbeing –
“as the balance point between an individual’s resource pool and the challenges faced”. This is shown in the following diagram.
Time to Start Activating Your Inner Resources?
Is it time to activate your inner resources so you can grow in confidence and move towards whole-hearted connection in your life? If you have any questions, please write them below.
If you are ready to reclaim your courage and take the next step towards your freedom and opening your heart, why not join our Toolkit?
Reference –
Dodge, R., Daly, A., Huyton, J., & Sanders, L. (2012). The challenge of defining wellbeing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 2(3), 222-235.
Website Page Reference –
If you would like to reference this work, please use –
Taylor, J. (2021) Time to Start Activating Your Inner Resources? [WWW] Available from: https://www.habitsforwellbeing.com/start-activating-your-inner-resources/ [Accessed …….. ]
Thanks in advance for honouring my work 🙂
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