Spiritual Resilience: 5 Ways to Move from Surviving to Thriving

“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

Spiritual resilience is what makes the difference between surviving or thriving in your life. It gives you the strength to not only rise above adversity and hardship, but to use it as a catalyst for spiritual growth. To do so, you have to trust that your spirit is stronger than any situation you can possibly face, and with every setback comes even greater transformation. Seeing life from this spiritual perspective, you view any problem, challenge, or difficulty as a stepping stone for change

Like a surfer riding a wave, once you trust the experience and relax rather than resist, you move smoothly through any wave. With awareness, balance, and flexibility, you can keep from falling off your board and being caught in the undertow of life

Every day you are presented with the opportunity to flow gracefully through life’s challenges instead of feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or stuck. In such situations, you can find emotional balance in the midst of distress. You can let go of your expectations and “go with the flow.” When you remain open and receptive, you tap into a divine flow of energy and trust that whatever is happening is for your highest and greatest good.

Here are 5 Ways to Strengthen Your Spiritual Resilience and Thrive:

1. Practice Thinking Positively

Practice thinking positively even if you do not feel this way all the time. To undo the devastating effects of negative thinking, you need three times as many positive thoughts to override the negative ones. The moment you notice any negative thoughts, pause, take a few deep breaths, and shift your attention from your head to your heart. This positive tipping point is not easy to achieve, but once you start developing more positive thoughts, you will broaden your positive perspective too.

Dwell on the positive aspects in your life. As your day comes to a close, allow yourself to think about three positive things that happened during the day and why you believe they happened. Appreciating what shows up in your life, uplifting or challenging shifts you to a miracle mindset and supports genuine resilience.

2. Be Flexible

Like a bamboo tree in a storm, flexibility allows you to bend without breaking. It gives you the ability to turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones. It helps you remain open, receptive, and adaptable as life unfolds. Above all, it requires an acceptance of yourself, others, and life as it comes. It doesn’t mean you are passively tolerant of what you don’t like, ignore injustice, or give in to everyone’s whims. On the contrary, you accept life as it comes, and trust that you are getting exactly what you want or need to spiritually grow.

3. Let Go of Trying to Control Everything

Let go of trying to control your life and allow it simply to unfold. Release your expectations, any preconceived plans, and embrace whatever comes your way.

Rather than attempting to control events through sheer force of will, embrace the experience, breathe deeply, and relax rather than resist. This will help you sustain healthy detachment from the any perceived outcome.  This helps you stay centered, peaceful, and make positive use of any situation that comes into your life. Use the Serenity Prayer when you need a reminder to accept the things you cannot change (such as other people), the courage to change the things you can (such as yourself), and the wisdom to know the difference.

4. Be Responsive rather than Reactive

While you may not be able to control other people or certain situations, you can choose how you perceive and respond to them. The moment you react negatively to anything, pause, take a few deep intentional breaths, and shift your attention from your head to your heart. Learning to drop into your heart space in the midst of a challenging situation helps you to let go of your reaction and respond more positively. It also brings you into physical and emotional balance.

Reflect and journal on a recent situation when you were faced with a challenge. What was your predominant mindset? Did you react from your head space (fear), “Why did this happen to me?” or did you respond from your heart space (trust), “What is this situation revealing to me about myself?” How you respond to what happens in your life determines a life of fear or peace.

5. Develop a Sense of Lightheartedness

Lightheartedness leads to a life of ease and grace. It includes spontaneity, humor, and playfulness—all launchpads to spiritual resilience. Spend time playing, simply having fun, and celebrating being, alone or with family or friends. Take pleasure in the simple things in life that make your heart sing with joyful abandon. Say yes to new situations that make you laugh, force you to explore outside your comfort zone, or prompt you to view life from a new perspective. Bring a sense of humor and silliness into every moment, and refuse to take life too seriously. Align with your soul’s passion and purpose and sustain joy in your life.

Spiritual resiliency is key to joy, happiness, and leading a soul-hearted life. The more you lead a spiritually attuned life, the more resilient you become.