AT NLM, we walk the walk that we talk. Short explanation, life experiences, education, and continuing personal and professional development have helped us gain an understanding of how the human brain develops resilience, and we aim to provide guidance and support to those who seek out our assistance.
This past week, I was given an opportunity to spend a week at Outdoor Odyssey participating in Semper Fi Odyssey in Boswell, PA. At Semper Fi Odyssey, veterans work in small teams led by an experienced veteran team leader to craft a plan for their future. The messages and learning for the week are ones of hope and resilience for the veteran attendees, along with the hard work all participants must put into themselves. We’re asked to make commitments to the collective group knowing that the commitment we make to others will help all of us keep our goals in mind and not want to let others down.
Outdoor Odyssey was founded by General TS Jones in 1998. He wanted to give support to school aged children and help provide them with opportunities for success because he was afforded that grace as a young man while he struggled finding purpose. A trusted adult took the time to mentor and help him find his way. General Jones’ commitment to all participants, you are always welcome to return to Semper Fi Odyssey to visit, participate, or share your experience.
So, as a non-veteran, how was I able to attend the program? Semper Fi Odyssey has begun to break out into programs for educators to help us develop the same mental fitness and resiliency as attending veterans. This past week was more of a gift than an opportunity and I would love nothing more than to share with all of you everything I experienced last week. For now, you will have to believe me when I say it was life changing in many ways.
So, let's talk about resiliency for a moment and how we build resiliency to be the best versions of ourselves. How many of us have wanted to accomplish something and failed. Everyone, right? But what holds us back from achieving our goal? Yes, the answer is usually ourselves. But why? With our just intentions, comprehensive plan, and even a support system around us, why can’t we find success?
Dr. Elizabeth Stanley who wrote Widen the Window explains this very thing in her book, and the answer comes from biology rather than our intentions. Often, our lack of ability to follow through is a result of conflict within our brains and we have little knowledge of the internal fight that is going on inside our head.
There are three parts to the Triune Brain in humans; the reptilian brain, the mammalian brain, and the neocortex. Humans are the only living thing with the ability to reason, which comes from the prefrontal cortex of our brain. Often, the prefrontal cortex is in conflict with the mammalian brain. You see, the mammalian brain has the responsibility of keeping us alive and is the origin of the fight or flight response. When we set goals, we typically use the prefrontal cortex. However, when we encounter stress, the more primitive parts of our brain, like the amygdala, take over. These regions are wired for immediate survival, not long-term planning, leading us to abandon our goals for short-term comfort or safety. In our attempt to achieve our goals, our own brain hijacks the process creating a low window of tolerance.
However, there are things we can do to work on ourselves to help us widen our window of tolerance so that our mammalian brain is less likely to hijack our thinking brain. I will offer a few practical strategies. The first is to regulate our breathing when we feel stress. We do this by diaphragmatic breathing that uses our belly to breathe. When we use this breathing technique such as four seconds in, one second hold, five seconds out, our parasympathetic nervous system helps to calm our body and in turn will lower our fight or flight response, allowing our thinking brain to gain control.
Another is mindfulness and meditation. We can practice this by sitting in a quiet room and focusing on our breathing or simple sensations in our body. Like sitting in a chair, how does the chair feel against our body or how our diaphragm moves in relation to the chair. When your mind wanders, bring it back to your focus point; this is called conscious intentionality. Practicing this can help us stay focused on tasks longer by training our brain. I have been using this over the past several months and it has helped me be more focused at work and with tasks at home.
A third is anchoring. When you feel yourself coming out of your window, take a moment to observe what is going on around you and allow this to refocus you and your intentions. An example would be to look around for three objects around you that are green or identify three things you can hear. I have used this technique in school when a student is out of the window and have success in refocusing the child.
Having resilience will help us achieve our goals. To become resilient, we must find ourselves out of our comfort zone. If you are reading this and are a parent, do not remove obstacles from your kids. Rather, provide them with support and guidance for them to solve their own problems. If you are a young athlete, embrace challenges and eliminate excuses. If you are a professional, become more intentional in your actions while at work. All of you should practice the strategies presented. We want to widen our window of tolerance so we can be successful, reach out to us if you have questions or would like some personal and professional development for your programs
If you are looking for a program to donate before the end of the calendar year, consider Outdoor Odyssey to direct your donation. Have a great holiday!!
Stanley, E. K. (2019). Widen the window: Training your brain and body to thrive during stress and recover from trauma. Avery.
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