Practical Philosophy

“What happens to us becomes part of us. Resilient people do not bounce back from hard experiences; they find healthy ways to integrate them into their lives. In time, people find that great calamity met with great spirit can create great strength.”

― Eric Greitens, Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life

In the day to day meandering many people often forget the insurmountable value of introspection, the idea that reflecting on your experience can grant you wisdom and insight you would have otherwise lost. This is a common tactic to learning in general, like reviewing one’s notes after having gone through a long lecture, but what if we applied this to our daily life where no teacher can teach you self-reflection and problem solving as well as you can practice yourself? The mind is a muscle, in the metaphorical sense, and if you practice a way of thinking, resilience, you become better in that respect. This practice of resilience builds self-respect that no amount of in depth reading and studying can offer. The little habits that challenge you develop as you do so what you do become who you are and as you practice resilience so do you become resilient.

Watch your thoughts and they become words

Watch your words and they become actions.

Watch your actions and they become habit.

Watch your habits and they become your character.

Watch your character and it becomes your destiny.

A little bit of mindfulness every day goes a long way and while I’m not saying you should spend an hour of your day meditating, being mindful of why a task will make you stronger mentally or physically will motivate you to do better and therefore allow yourself to grow as a person.