Resilience is our ability to bounce back when things don’t go as planned. It’s a quality that we all possess to some degree, but some of us can draw on it more easily than others can. Lothar Pohl, Kindergarten Teacher at Martin Weiss Elementary, is the Guiding Principle Superstar for Resilience.
Rain or shine you will find Mr. Pohl making the best of situations. He recently had to cancel a trip that was very important to him and his wife. They were planning their wedding anniversary and his milestone birthday. When he found out that he had to cancel the trip, he remained calm and optimistic in the face of great disappointment and possible financial loss.
He applied five key skills of stress resilience to this situation:
1. self-awareness
2. staying flexible and focused
3. letting go of destructive emotions
4. letting go of harmful thoughts
5. sustaining positive emotions.
“I know that it does no good to let myself get “down” – I have to keep going and make the best out of the situation. My wife and I will have quality time to spend together over Spring Break no matter what we do.” – Lothar Pohl
