When Your Resilience Runs Out

You often hear “resilience” paired with children’s ability to bounce back after hard times. Whether it be through their parents divorcing, the loss of a loved one, or even fighting disease, children never seem to run out of resiliency.

Why, then, do adults seem to be less durable in similar situations? And what happens when our continued energy of returning from setbacks seems to run out?

Well, my gentle souls, the truth is that children are often more equipped to survive turmoil because they have not yet lived long enough to adopt feelings of self-doubt or process issues by creating outcomes through an overactive brain- that, let’s be honest- usually magnifies our anxiety and worry.

Because adults carry loads more stress in their day-to-day activities and we see the world through a different lens than a child, it can feel more draining on us. Eventually, mayhem within our lives can feel unbearable, especially when we take on hit after hit.

I don’t know about y’all, but I get to a point where I want to throw in the towel and say, “I’m done! I’m done with people, work, bills, love, lessons, and life! I don’t want to do this sh*t anymore!” If this resonates with you, you will want to keep reading.

Before I reveal what you do when your resilience runs out, please move forward with a completely open mind and heart. If you’re at your wits end right now, what do you have to lose?

There comes a point in time when the burdens of life get far too heavy to carry. After all, how do we discover the balance between caring for ourselves, raising our families, providing, surviving, and trying to THRIVE all at once? Especially when life continuously knocks us down despite our sustained efforts.

Look, there’s a reason people of faith say, “You’re going to need God at some point in your life. If it’s not on your deathbed, it’ll be when life gets too heavy to carry.” Don’t worry; I am not about to push religion on you. Religion is manmade; today, I wish to shed light on the importance of beauty within FAITH.

We cannot deny there are little voices inside each of our heads. One might preach encouraging and positive words to you, while the other instills fear-driven thoughts and pessimism.

It’s almost like the cartoons we saw as children, with the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other, depicted some truth. While we don’t have these characters with harps or a trident on our shoulders, we do have those voices guiding us in what we do and don’t do.

While scientists don’t fully understand the brain and how it works, they have unveiled brain chemicals that result in positive or negative emotions. They can even tell us why one might produce more of a specific chemical than another. However, they cannot explain where we get the basis of what we naturally know as right and wrong.

Many debates could go on for days arguing viewpoints, but why is it that we ALL know it’s wrong to kill? Why can we all agree that it’s bad to steal? Why are specific seeds planted within our subconscious makeup that tell us these things without having to study them?

I’ll tell you why because that voice guiding you NOT to do those things is the spirit of God inside you. He made every single one of us in his image, and he is the one who sends you signals. Have you ever had an idea pop into your head or an urge to do something? It was almost as if it was calling to you, but you couldn’t explain why. While we could credit our brain chemicals leading us in a particular direction, I feel it’s more liberating to know that your spirit is pulled towards your purpose in life, and God helps reveal the way. God will only direct you toward a calling that benefits you and others. All dark urges come from a sinister energy. One I don’t think I need to reveal to you.

Along the path, you will be hit with many unfortunate events. Some halt you in your tracks, while others send you backward a dozen steps. This isn’t punishment, my friends. There are valuable lessons you must learn along the journey to evolve into your best self. And sometimes, the evolving process is torturous. Sometimes, we make the wrong choices several times before we pick the right one. Sometimes, we make the right choice by going the WRONG way because there’s a lesson we NEED to learn before we keep moving.

Then something happens. We get tired. We get weak. We feel the harrowing weight of failure consuming us. There’s a battle between the voices in our heads. One is telling us that we have all the strength we need within us to keep going, and the other is telling us we’re no good and should give up. Chaos prevails inside our minds, disrupting conflicting beliefs and causing us to want to hide in a hole until we figure out what to do. This is where our resilience runs out.

So what do we do?

At this point, we need to release our egos!!!

Stop analyzing your life under a microscope and collecting data within test tubes. Surrender! Give it to God! LETTING GO of constant control and analyzing every situation till your mental health goes out the window will be the answer to continuous progression forward. I know it’s scary to think about, but it will preserve your soul on a journey that can get pretty helter-skelter.

I promise you if you turn to God and ask him to carry you through situations you thought you couldn’t endure, you will see the miracle of his ways. Why do you think you have survived every tribulation you’ve experienced this far in life? Have no doubt. He is ALWAYS with you, whether you want to believe it or not.