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Resilience is the art of turning setbacks into opportunity. However, sometimes it can be hard to deal with life changes and difficulties. These seven quotes on resilience from Calvin Holbrook may inspire you to find your perseverance and keep moving forward. Resilience is an essential skill of strength that we need to develop in order to live and thrive successfully. It's necessary to find this skill of perseverance because throughout our lives we will face continual setbacks, problems and challenges. Resilience refers to our capacity to recover from these difficulties, find our inner strength and bounce back. Sometimes just reading a quote about resilience may help us to access that willpower to keep going. Indeed, instead of simply surviving or burying our heads in the sand – which can lead to depression and anxiety – resilience determines whether we become defeated by life obstacles or fight through them and grow stronger, hopefully learning life lessons along the way. RELATED: Building resilience – 5 strategies for thriving Building resilience techniques helps us to cope with the inevitable challenges that life will constantly hurl our way. The great thing is, every single one of us possesses the ability to access the mental strength that exists within us – even though it may not feel like it in the moment. So, if you’re experiencing a hard time and need some inspiration to stay tough and keep going, these seven powerful resilience quotes may inspire you to find that inner strength. Resilience quotes: 7 powerful sayings 1. “A good half of the art of living is resilience.” Alain de Botton In this quote, the British-Swiss philosopher and author Alain de Botton recognises that staying resilient is an essential life skill, one that we all will need to use on a regular basis. Why? Well, because staying resilient helps us to recover from setbacks and/or failure, and it also helps us to deal with change. These are both things we will have to deal with continuously at all stages of our life, so it makes sense that resilience makes up such a vital part of the art of living successfully. In fact, resilient people will not let adversity define them. They find and develop their resilience by moving towards a goal beyond themselves, overcoming grief and pain by perceiving difficult times as the temporary state of affairs that they are. 2. “Rock bottom became the solid foundation in which I rebuilt my life.” J.K. Rowling This resilience quote comes from one of the best-selling authors on the planet, Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling. Before finding success she was a single mum living on state benefits in Edinburgh, Scotland, after returning home from a failed marriage while living abroad in Portugal. Her first Potter book was rejected by 12 different publishers but that didn’t stop her giving up on her dream. Later, when her mother died, she even developed suicidal thoughts. Nowadays, Rowling sites these difficult times as the foundation for rebuilding her life. She even has one of her rejection letters – which advises her to join a writers group to develop more experience – framed and displayed on her wall as a reminder of her resilience! 3. “If your heart is broken, make art with the pieces.” Shane Koyczan This quote around persevering and staying strong comes from the award-winning spoken word poet and author Shane Koyczan. Our hearts can be broken for many different reasons: grief, failure, the end of a relationship. Koyczan suggests that we take the pain and put it to good use: by being creative with it. Getting over heartache is tough, but chanelling your pain into something creative helps you to get over it and move on, as well as getting into something new, whether that be poetry, singing, making a painting or drawing. Indeed, heartbreak can be a source of motivation and inspiration. Just take a look at the British musician Sam Smith. Back in 2015 he won four Grammy awards for his work, an album he had completed while he was going through relationship struggles. During his acceptance speech for one of the Grammys, Smith stated: “I want to thank the man who this record is about, who I fell in love with last year. Thank you so much for breaking my heart, because you got me four Grammys.” Now that's a resilience quote! 4. “Never cease chiseling your own statue.” Plotinus Plotinus was a philosopher who lived in Roman Egypt. The issue of happiness was one of his greatest imprints on Western thought, and Plotinus was one of the first thinkers to introduce the idea that eudaimonia (happiness) is attainable only within consciousness. “Building resilience techniques helps us to cope with the inevitable challenges that life will hurl our way. These seven powerful resilience quotes may inspire you to find your inner-strength.” This resilience quote is about self-improvement and continued self-awareness in a bid to become the person you want to be. We all have things about ourselves that we don’t like. These things can potentially keep us down and hold us back from growth. Plotinus suggests, “Cut away all that is excessive, straighten all that is crooked, bring light to all that is overcast, labor to make all one glow or beauty and never cease chiseling your statue, until there shall shine out on you from it the godlike splendor of virtue.” 5. “Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” Nelson Mandela This resilience quote from the revered former President of South Africa will surely resonate with many of us. It suggests that resilience and strength are powerful human traits, more valuable than success itself. Mandela was knocked down many times in his long and illustrious life, and kept fighting despite all the odds. So, if you’re struggling with failure or being beaten down, let Mandela’s words inspire you to never give up. His resilience quote reminds me of another well-known saying about staying resilient that’s also important to remember: “If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.” 6. “Discipline equals freedom.” Jocko Willink Have you struggled to reach your goals or ambitions because of procrastination or failure to focus on the task at hand? Then this resilience quote from Jocko Willink could inspire you to work harder. Willink is a retired American Navy SEAL officer who now works as a podcaster and author. “Instead of burying our heads in the sand – which can lead to depression and anxiety – resilience determines whether we become defeated by life obstacles or fight through them.” While serving in the Navy, Willink rose through the ranks to become a commander. He lives by his “discipline equals freedom” mantra, imposing mental and physical disciplines he imposes on himself in order to achieve freedom in all aspects of life. His quote about being resilient suggests that you have to stay disciplined and focused to achieve what you want. And then, when you finally get there, the achievement will bring you freedom and happiness. 7. “My barn having burned down, I can now see the moon.” Mizuta Masahide If you currently need a reminder that every cloud has a silver lining, this is it! This resilience quote comes from Mizuta Masahide, a 17th-century Japanese poet and samurai. The saying suggests that when something bad happens, we should shift our focus away from the negative and try to see the positive in the situation. Indeed, changing perspective and reframing a situation can help us to stay strong and move on from whatever is causing us pain. It helps us to stay resilient and gives us hope for the future. ● Do you have any favourite quotes about resilience that you turn to in times of difficulty? Share them with the community in the comments below! happiness.com | The fine art of being: learn, practise, share Are you a happiness.com member? Sign up for free to enjoy: ■ our happiness magazine with practical life tips ■ sharing and supporting others in our happiness forum ■ developing with free online classes in our Academy Coaching | Letting go | Authenticity Written by Calvin Holbrook Calvin edits our online magazine, makes art, and is a lover of swimming, yoga, dancing to house/techno, and all things vintage! Find out more.

It’s often said that schools don’t provide the life skills children really need as adults, but emotional education – or social emotional learning – is becoming much more popular. Arlo Laibowitz explores what it is and just how it benefits the younger members of our community. Traditionally, education focuses on three R’s: reading, writing, and arithmetic. But to become happy and caring individuals, those skills are not enough. Increasingly, there’s also attention to 'soft skills', most often called emotional education or social emotional learning (SEL). What exactly is social emotional learning (SEL)? Social emotional learning is the process through which students acquire and apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to: understand and manage emotions (self-awareness) set and achieve positive goals (self-management) feel and show empathy to others (social awareness) establish and maintain positive relationships (relationship skills) make responsible decisions. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } What does social emotional learning focus on? Self-Awareness trains the ability to focus on one's emotions, thoughts, and values, and how they influence behaviour. Also, it strengthens the capacity to assess one’s strengths and limitations, with confidence, optimism, and a ‘growth mindset’. Self-Management trains the skills to regulate emotions, thoughts, and behaviours in different situations: managing stress, controlling impulses, and motivating oneself. Social Awareness focuses on the ability to take the perspective and empathise with others. It enables the student to understand social and ethical norms. Relationships skills strengthen the students in their ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships, to communicate clearly, listen mindfully, cooperate with others, negotiate conflict, and seek and offer help. Responsible decision making trains the capacity to make constructive choices about personal behaviour and social interactions based on ethics, safety, and social norms. How can it be used to help students? The three R’s of emotional education that are found in social emotional learning are focused on emotional literacy: Regulation, Reconstruction and Resilience: Students learn to regulate their emotions and alter them. Reconstruction of emotions enables emotionally healthy and positive responses. And when students are capable of balancing conflicting and competing emotions, they become calmer and more resilient. The reasons to adopt social emotional learning are these positive results: To overcome and manage emotions like fear, hatred, anger, and anxiety. To increase academic success, in test scores, grades, and attendance. To lower stress levels, and have more positive attitudes towards themselves, others, and tasks. To prevent harmful behaviors like drug use, violence, and bullying. And to provide students with the skills they will need in their future careers and lives. The skills taught through SEL help students, educators, and parents to cultivate more positive emotions. Education can be used as a tool to serve the greater good: students learn to sustain their well-being and happiness and care for themselves and others. In the shift from the traditional three R’s to the three R’s of emotional learning, students, schools, and parents, develop skills and competencies that enable them to lead more balanced, empathic, connected, and happier lives. ● Written by Arlo Laibowitz Arlo is a filmmaker, artist, lecturer, and intermittent practitioner of metta meditation and morning yoga. When not dreaming about impossible projects and making them happen in the most impractical ways possible, he journals, listens to jazz, or cuddles with his better half.

By balancing our physiology and nervous systems, body-based practices can help us through hard times. By Linda Graham on behalf of Greater Good Science Center. Stuff happens. Another car suddenly swerves into your lane on the freeway. You misplace your keys and wallet two minutes before you need to catch your bus to work. You shred the wrong client file at the office. These mini-disasters create quite a startle in your nervous system — a rush of adrenaline that helps ready your body for “fight or flight,” our natural defense against perceived danger. But if your body is hit with adrenaline for every little thing that goes wrong in life, it can tax your capacity to cope, making recovery from future setbacks like these even more difficult. Luckily, it’s possible to strengthen your own body-based somatic intelligence to quickly respond to and recover from any sense of threat to your safety or well-being. What is somatic intelligence? It’s understanding how your body responds to danger and using that knowledge to support your body as you go through life — which, if you’re human, is bound to be filled with at least some adversity. In my new book, Resilience: Powerful Practices for Bouncing Back from Disappointment, Difficulty, and Even Disaster, I explain many of the resources we have within us to build up our resilience. While the book outlines several resilience tools — including those aimed at improving emotional, relational, and reflective intelligence — building somatic intelligence is key to all of these. Without it, it’s difficult to engage in any of the other practices available to you. “Luckily, it’s possible to strengthen your own body-based somatic intelligence to quickly respond to and recover from any sense of threat to your safety or well-being.” To better support our natural somatic intelligence, we need to soothe our nervous system through body-based practices that steady our brain’s perceptions of and responses to danger and help us retain a sense of safety. Once we master some of these techniques, we are prepared for more resilient coping, learning, and growth. Here are some simple practices I recommend in my book, each of them grounded in neurophysiology. 1. Breathing To breathe is to be alive. Every inhalation you take activates the sympathetic branch of your nervous system a little bit (a lot when you overreact to something and hyperventilate), while every exhalation activates the parasympathetic branch a little bit (a lot when you feel scared to death and faint). That means that your breath goes through natural cycles of energizing you and relaxing you. We can intentionally use this rhythm of gently breathing in and out to reliably regulate the revving up and shutting down of our nervous system. Simply pause for a moment and focus your attention on your breathing. Notice where it’s easiest to sense the sensations of your breath flowing in and out — your nostrils, your throat, in the rise and fall of your chest or belly. Take a moment to experience some gratitude for the breath that sustains your life, every moment of your life. Breathing, with one hand on the heart, can soothe you 2. Deep sigh A deep sigh is your body-brain’s natural way to release tension and reset your nervous system. Simply breathe in fully, then breathe out fully, longer on the exhale. Studies have shown that a deep sigh returns the autonomic nervous system from an over-activated sympathetic state to a more balanced parasympathetic state. Even as what you’re coping with becomes more challenging, you can deliberately pair any moment of tension or frustration with a sigh to shift your physiology into a relieved and more relaxed state, thereby enhancing your chances of seeing clearly and choosing to respond wisely to what’s happening. 3. Touch To soothe the nervous system and restore a sense of safety and trust in the moment, it helps to use the power of touch. Warm, safe touch activates the release of oxytocin — the “tend and befriend” hormone that creates pleasant feelings in the body and is the brain’s direct and immediate antidote to the stress hormone cortisol. Oxytocin is one of a cascade of neurochemicals that are part of the brain-body social engagement system. Because being in the presence of other people is so critical to our well-being and safety, nature has provided this system to encourage us to reach out to others and connect. That’s why touch, along with physical proximity and eye contact, evokes a viscerally felt sense of reassurance that “everything is OK; you’re fine.” 4. Hand on the heart Research has shown that placing your hand over your heart and gently breathing can soothe your mind and your body. And experiencing the sensations of touch with another safe human being, even recalling memories of those moments, can activate the release of oxytocin, which evokes a feeling of safety and trust. This is a practice that takes advantage of breath and touch, but also memories of feeling safe with another person. Here's how it’s done: Place your hand on your heart. Breathe gently, softly, and deeply into the area of your heart. If you wish, breathe a sense of ease or safety or goodness into your heart center. Remember one moment, just one moment when you felt safe, loved, and cherished by another human being. Don’t try to recall the entire relationship, just one moment. This could be with a partner, a child, a friend, a therapist, or a teacher; it could be with a spiritual figure. Remembering a loving moment with a pet can work very well, too. As you remember this moment of feeling safe, loved, and cherished, let yourself savor the feelings of that moment. Let yourself stay with these feelings for 20 to 30 seconds. Notice any deepening in a visceral sense of ease and safety. “Placing your hand over your heart and gently breathing can soothe your mind and body.” Repeat this practice many times a day at first, to strengthen the neural circuitry that remembers this pattern. Then practice this exercise whenever you experience the first signal of a startle or an upset. With practice, it will enable you to back out of a difficult emotional reaction before it hijacks you. Make a move: placing hands on your hips can make you feel confident 5. Movement Any time you move your body and shift your posture, you shift your physiology, which, in turn, shifts the activity of your autonomic nervous system. Therefore, you can use movement to shift your emotions and your mood. For example, if you're feeling scared or nervous, research has shown that taking a pose that expresses the opposite of that — putting your hands on your hips, your chest out, and your head held high — will make you feel more confident. Yoga poses can increase your confidence, too — perhaps even more so than poses associated with social dominance. So, if you're experiencing any state of fear, anger, sadness, or disgust, try shifting your posture. Let your body move into a posture that expresses the emotional state you want to develop in yourself to counteract what you’re feeling. I’ve found that working with my clients on this technique can sometimes really shift something for them, as they discover that they actually have the means inside of themselves to deal with these difficult emotions. There are many more practices outlined in my book that you can use to cultivate more calm in the body, restore your natural physiological equilibrium, and access a deeper sense of safety and well-being that primes your brain for more resilient learning and coping. By practicing these tools, you will not only cope better with any upset or catastrophe and bounce back better from any adversity, you will also learn to see yourself as someone who can cope. And that sense of being able to soothe yourself after setbacks is the beginning of developing true resilience. ● This essay is adapted from Resilience: Powerful Practices for Bouncing Back from Disappointment, Difficulty, and Even Disaster (New World Library, 2018, 304 pages) by Linda Graham, MFT. Subscribe to her newsletter and learn more about her work. Written by Greater Good Science Center This article originally appeared on Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. Happiness.org is honoured to republish them with the kind permission of the Greater Good Science Center. greatergood.berkeley.edu