Keys to Connecting Deeply

When we choose not to identify with our struggles as a part of our identity, we grant ourselves freedom from allowing our struggles to define us. One of the best instances could be deciding that failing a test does not define you as a failure. Our identity is an organized, learned, dynamic, and subjective evaluation of ourselves. For example, the way we choose to think and feel about our life directly connects to our emotional wellbeing and our ability to perform daily tasks.

This is part of the reason why individuals who can cultivate a clear and positive identity after facing their adversities demonstrate a greater resiliency and a higher satisfaction with life. When we choose to accept hardship as a naturally occurring theme in our lives and welcome it as a precursor to growth and development, we encourage ourselves to constantly evolve, reinvent, and challenge ourselves. Strategies such as self-esteem enhancement, management of your exploration and commitments, as well as reduction of self-discrepancies and negative self-talk when we are faced with adversity can help us to develop an optimally functional identity. With this in our minds, let’s make the intentions to embrace how this concept of mental resiliency can be the connecting thread between all things.