Do you enjoy reading?

I love to read. I’m slowly making my way through stacks of books that I have around the house.

An ideal vacation for me would be to sit somewhere peaceful and read. (Preferably somewhere in or near nature.)

But reading for me is a way to learn, escape, grow, expand, or deepen my understanding of the world around me and of myself.

While I love a great fiction novel I do read many non-fiction and professional development books. Some have really made an impact on my own growth and the growth of my career and business.

I’d love to share some with you today…

Ah the zen vacation, the year long sabbatical, the parental leave, the short mini-break where you immersed yourself in 4 days at the beach or hiking in the back woods somewhere.

And, now it’s time to head back to work.

Heading back to work can sometimes feel like a mixed bag of emotions no matter if you run your own business or are an employee.

There have been years where I’ve reluctantly gone back (almost in tears), some years when I’ve been indifferent and years where I genuinely looked forward to starting back on Monday morning. Luckily, the latter has been much more often.

Where ever you are…the feelings you have when you’re ’heading back in’ can be telling. We often want to push them aside and get on with it, but did you know that those emotions and feelings hold incredible amounts of information for you?

If you’re feeling reluctant, anxious, dread, uncertainty, sadness, joy, or excitement, there’s information in here not to be shoved aside, but to be experienced and listened to. And then, what to do about that information?

Being able to recover from setbacks, challenges, and major difficulties not only applies to your personal life but also applies to your work and career as well.

A number of people leave jobs where they’ve experienced high stress, overwhelm, and even workplace trauma. 47% of working Canadians agree that their work is the most stressful part of their day. (Source: Workplace Strategies for Mental Health: Morneau Shepell. (2017). Media Room)

Finding your own ways to recover from setbacks and tough situations can help you move forward and cultivate resilience for future challenges.

And, as a leader, resilience can help you lead and expand into new opportunities. Having personal experience in cultivating your own resiliency can also help you support the people and teams you lead.

Here are some strategies to consider if you’re interested in continuing to build your own resilience:

I don’t know about you, but recently, I’ve been witnessing a number of people who’ve been feeling stressed and very tired. It’s a busy time of year. And, it can bring out feelings that sometimes lay dormant throughout the year. It can be an emotional time for many.

On top of that, you’re running your business and you’re dealing with everything that normally lands in your lap but you also have the added commitments that go along with the Holiday season.

I’d love to have a magic ingredient that could take this all this away for you and transform it into a feeling of peace, ease, and comfort for you.

What I will do is share some thoughts that I hope may support you.