Sheryl on building resilience

Published on

For some time I have been in awe of Sheryl. Some of the stuff she does maybe grates a little, but the overall direction is flawless. Today my friend Emma Cashmore, an EMEA Diversity Program Manager at FB told me to look st Sheryl's recent commencement address at Berkeley in which she talks movingly for the first time about building resilience in the wake of her husband's recent sudden death. Her message that in the face of any challenge you can choose joy and meaning and her exhortation to recognise and correct the 3P's (Personalisation, Permanence and Pervasiveness) are absolutely on point. Everything that happens to us does not happen because of us, sorrow will not last forever and a bad thing does not affect all areas of your life - you can still celebrate every moment of joy and be grateful for each breath in and out.

This resonates with me so clearly given my recent reacquaintance with cancer. It also works I think with numerous challenges be they injury or illness, physical or mental. Whatever the challenge, understand the role the 3Ps may be playing (together or on their own) and build resilience in your self! This is I think 22 minutes worth watching. Plus you learn what 'Kick the shit [and Sheryl uses the word] out of option B' actually means. Well if your husband isn't here to parent your kids or you can't not have cancer, let's absolutely make sure that we do the best job we can with what we've got!!

Related Articles

Challenging Stress (3)

(The third in a series of short pieces about how our unconscious thinking can create unnecessary stress - so called Negative Automatic Thoughts or NATs....

CIPD research underlining need for workplace mental health strategies

Here's the latest revealing research, this time from the CIPD, highlighting the extent of mental health issues in the workplace and the need for employe...

Challenging stress (2)

This is the second in a series of short pieces about how our unconscious thinking can create unnecessary stress - so called Negative Automatic Thoughts ...

People Management: HR must protect workplace investigators from the threat of vicarious trauma

Head of Resolution Zoe Wigan shares how to recognise and mitigate this risk for investigators of distressing subject matter.

Personnel Today: Six ways to kickstart conversations about team stress at work

Rachael Forsberg shares six steps for workplaces properly discussing team stress, as a crucial first step in tackling it.

Reworked: The 3 Best Ways to Invest in Employee Mental Health and Well-Being

Investing in wellbeing can boost both productivity and profitability. Where should leaders begin? Mark O'Grady shares three key focus areas for workplace leaders in his latest piece for Reworked.