Resilience is the foundation for positive mental health and well-being. It allows us to confront difficult experiences and challenges in a more meaningful and productive way, enabling us to learn, grow, and become stronger from them.
Research shows that it’s not just what we go through that affects us, but it’s also the story that we tell ourselves. And if we stop and make meaning of life’s most difficult moments, they can actually help us develop a sense of purpose, take appropriate risks and create positive relationships with others.
Everything in life, both good and bad, can teach us something if we’re willing to learn from it. With resilience, we can turn obstacles into advantages and use them to create a life of greater meaning.
Here’s how Tristen’s experience with resilience has improved her mental well-being.
Tristen Schneider
When you travel across Canada as we do for months at a time, lugging and unpacking your belongings at a new location every day, you get very particular about what you bring with you.
These are the essentials:
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Jumbo-size pack of deodorant (because you know it gets stanky living out of a truck!)
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Fast food coupons (it’s like $20 for a burger nowadays, so gotta have these).
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Stuffed animal – maybe a weird one, but I tried to fit my 20-year-old cat Cutie in my backpack, but she was all hiss and claws when I tried to stuff her in, so I took this instead.