Life is an "improvisatory art," writes Mary Catherine Bateson in one of my favourite books.  As we move forward in life, she suggests, we "combine familiar and unfamiliar components in response to new situations, following both an underlying grammar and an evolving aesthetic." (Composing A Life, p.3) 
 
The power of that image struck me afresh when I was invited to offer workshops for the BCHRMA this month on wellbeing in stressful times.  I think resiliency is the key to wellbeing.  You can't get wellbeing from without.  You have to compose it from within.
 
Geoff Colvin's new book, Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everyone Else (2008) draws attention to 'deliberate practice', an activity designed specifically to improve performance.  Without it, talent accomplishes very little.  It usually involves a teacher's help, is repeated a lot, involves continuous feedback, is highly demanding mentally, and isn't much fun.  Jazz musicians understand how important this is in developing the capacity to improvise and adapt in the moment with other musicians. 
 
Developing resiliency rituals is a deliberate practice to strengthen your capacity to flourish in the midst of stress.  You won't eliminate stress.  You can only learn to handle the strain better.  The purpose of 'deliberate practice' in this field is to develop resiliency rituals that enable you to choose and model wellbeing in the midst of increasing stress.  Such training (and that's the kind of discipline it requires) helps you develop and learn an 'underlying grammar' of health and use it in creating an 'evolving aesthetic' of flourishing and wellbeing. 
 
I think there are three kinds of rituals worth practicing and mastering - rituals of calming, rituals of curiosity, and rituals of appreciation.
 
Rituals of calming attune your body to healthy responses to stress.  They involve repeated times of physical movement related to breathing, stretching, strengthening, and enduring.  These rituals oxygenate your body, especially your brain.  Equally important are nutritional practices that regulate your glucose levels well throughout the day.  In essence, eat often and eat light.
 
Rituals of curiosity focus your mind and heart on healthy responses to stress.  Asking questions that offer other people the opportunity to have themselves understood and really listening to the responses build connections by showing respect.  They nurture open minds and open hearts.  They initiate compelling conversations.    
 
Rituals of appreciation align your spirit to your healthy responses to stress by creating positive meaning and significance.  They involve visualizing and imagining the positive potential you can realize in collaboration with your colleagues.  They involve being grateful for the benefit that can be created by your resilience and for the opportunity to model this way of being. 
 
Positive psychology researchers, on the basis of over 1 million surveys, have concluded that two attitudes are crucial to resiliency in the workplace - hope and zest.  Hope has to do with an optimistic orientation to the future, expecting the best  and working to achieve it.  Zest has to do with high levels of vitality, enthusiasm, vigor, and energy.  It gets you in the groove of living life as an exciting and fulfilling adventure.  For much more on such research being done by the Values in Action Institute on Character click here.  
 
Rituals of calming, curiosity, and appreciation help you stay grounded in your hope and zest.  From my own experience, I can testify that these kinds of rituals empower you to flourish in stressful situations.
 
To get a read on how resilient you currently are, click here to take the resiliency quiz developed by Al Siebert, author of The Resiliency Advantage. 
 
Cheers,