Psychology Today
Key points
Draw on positive memories.
Ask yourself what someone you admire would say or do.
Deliberately choose to focus on the light.
Reframe difficult experiences using positive language.
I’ve learned over the years that resilience isn’t about ignoring the hard stuff. It’s about how you choose to see it, or what you tell yourself it "means." When life gets heavy—trust me, I’ve had my share of heavy times—I’ve found myself standing at a kind of crossroads. One path stretches into shadows, the disappointments, letdowns, and losses I’ve endured. The other opens toward the light. Much more often than not, I’ve chosen to walk on the sunny side of the proverbial street.
Through the hard times—including a life-altering medical diagnosis, losing both my parents and many friends in my you