Resilience – 4 Steps to a Fresh Start

March 12, 2010

By Linda T. Gottlieb, MA, CPT, CET

I love quotes, don’t you?  They put into words a feeling, inspiration or thought that I could never express as beautifully. I’d like to share one today that I think is especially meaningful:


“You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.”  Mary Pickford, Actress and co-founder of United Artists.


Resilience is defined as the ability to recover from or adjust to misfortune or change.  This word may very well have a stronger meaning at this time in your life than ever before.  

I read about these 4 steps to a fresh start in a sales journal recently. Of course, the focus was on business success, but the rules remain the same when you are struggling to get back on your fit, healthful track and (it’s bound to happen) you get a bit misdirected.


1.      Focus on behaviors that lead to results.  Results are what we are really after, aren’t they?  A smaller pants size, lower cholesterol, or blood pressure?  You must act with commitment to deliver these results to yourself. By doing the right behaviors (eating mindfully, moving more, lifting weights) the results come.

2.      Make lessons of failures.  Don’t magnify a failure; it’s just a lesson, learning from it makes your next attempt closer to successful.  

3.      Continue on…only a bit smarter!

4.      Reinforce. Support yourself and get support from your loved ones and friends by reminding them how you are working through the first 3 points.

Encourage resilience!

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