Creating the “Habit of Resiliency”

Bonnie CanalNews, Thought Leadership

 Individual resilience includes nuances that readiness does not.Because I live in New Orleans, we tend to think of readiness as Hurricane Preparedness. It is during this time that we are constantly reminded of what we must do to be prepared if/when the next big one comes. So for 6 months out of the year we prepare ourselves by stocking our bottled water, canned foods and alternate lighting sources to be READY!

But what happens the rest of the year, or during the years that we don’t get a storm? This readiness slips; until it moves from our center of attention to something that we should be doing.

So I propose a new thought of readiness, as FEMA and other organizations are now focusing on moving from Readiness to Resilience. Each of us needs to create for ourselves the “Habit of Resilience”.

As we all know, habits are something that we do unconsciously. It is where our brains have the opportunity to go on “autopilot”, thus the “habit of resiliency” becomes who we are, not what we do. We need to incorporate into our daily lives certain behaviors that will eventually lead to a habit.

So what are some of the habits I have formed?

  • Getting to know my neighbors. In knowing my neighbors, I now have a sense of belonging to
    a community of people and in case of any emergency, I can now know who is in
    need of any specialized assistance.
  • Voting. By voting in all elections, I have a voice in my community on who and how we are governed.
  • Volunteering. I have found that this is a great way to actively engage others while sharing
    the skill sets that I have.
Bonnie Canal
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