Building Resilience: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough

As we get ready to start our work week, let me leave you with a word of encouragement for this week. You may be someone who is walking into a job where you feel like you are not seen. You feel undervalued.  You know what kind of value that you bring to the table but the powers that be don’t seem to understand. I’ve been there on multiple occasions over the years.

At one point, I had very little self confidence. I had done everything that everyone had told me from a youth up. I went to school, got good grades, got a scholarship (partial), went to college, and graduated. But I could not get a job in my field. I felt defeated because I was chasing money. In the process of me chasing it, I lost all of what I had. There I was with no job, no money, and no self confidence. But I did have a team of folks in my corner that encouraged me and helped me get back on my feet. In the process of doing this, I had to learn to encourage myself. I had a screensaver of a bulldog on my work computer at the time. I called him “Buster”. Seeing his face helped to encouraged me to not give up. He reminded of my alma mater (Alabama A&M University). On top of having Buster at work with me, I listened to Slim Thug’s “Already Platinum”. His words encouraged me that even though I was not where I wanted to be physically, I was already there in my mind. So, I started calling myself Triple Platinum and Mr. Platinum.

These terms would annoy some around me, but I knew the real reason why I was using these terms. Sometimes you have to encourage yourself, especially when you are facing obstacles by yourself and your support system is not around. Having this confidence helped me to remember who I was and whose I was. Some viewed my confidence in my abilities as me being conceited. However, I have learned over the years that when you learn to allow the Spirit of the Divine to lead you, your confidence will increase. You will walk differently and talk differently. You will even think differently about who you are and how you are to encounter this world.

Let me encourage you today, YOU are somebody. YOU were created by the Creator of the Universe to create for the purpose of benefiting humanity and creation. Remember that YOU were created by Greatness and YOU have a piece of that greatness in you. Don’t let a boss, coworker, or anyone else make you think otherwise. Have so much confidence in the ability that God gave you and so much peace of knowing that God is with you that you make devils uncomfortable being in your presence. I know I will, Lord Willing. Be encouraged and make it a good week.