How Women Can Harness Resilience During COVID-19

During these times of uncertainty and isolation, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain our mental well-being. If you’re finding yourself in a place of helplessness while in quarantine, there is hope. Resilience exists when we use mental or emotional processes and behaviors to cope with crises and protect the greater self from potential stressors. Fortunately, resilience is something that every person holds within themselves and has the ability to tap into. With the help of resilience and happiness expert, Michaela Johnson, we can all come out of this pandemic mentally and emotionally stronger than ever before.

Michaela Johnson is a licensed psychotherapist, life coach, award-winning author, and host of popular podcast, Be You Find Happy. In addition to her professional achievements, Johnson is uniquely qualified in resilience, as she was forced to cultivate it in herself from an early age. She grew up in a trailer without running water or electricity, escaped an abusive marriage without a safety net or financial stability, and raised her son as a single mother. Through her life experience and teachings, Michaela helps thousands of students and listeners discover their truth and live courageously. Today, she provides advice on how we can cognitively harness resilience and promote our personal development during COVID-19.

Embrace the Future of Femininity

“The future of female is a space where women are able to identify things that aren’t serving them and make changes that empower them to live a life of joy.” (Michaela Johnson, 2020) Sometimes, to embrace the future, we must let go of tradition. This is ever-so-true when it comes to the future of woman, and how we think of femininity. Traditionally, to be feminine meant, in part, to be subservient, domestic, and obedient. Over the centuries, however, the definition of femininity has evolved as the behaviors and actions of women have departed from these old-world concepts of what a woman should be. As a woman working through the mental and emotional impacts of COVID-19, stop holding yourself to certain ideations of who you should be, and start identifying who YOU are.

Quit Comparing Yourself

According to Johnson, “It’s about understanding that happiness is a constant reset, it’s not something that we find and put in our purse.” When it comes to comparing ourselves to someone else, we have to remember that we don’t know who they are inside, only what we can see from the outside. Although we all know that comparison is the root of much of our misery, we continue to practice its dark art. After all, it’s human nature; an act that’s only been heightened by the rise of social media and having a sixth sense into everyone else’s daily lives, and staying home like the responsible citizens we are definitely isn’t making things any easier. On the other hand, however, we have SO many other things to do to keep us busy, keep us learning, and keep us growing. Now is the time to “tap into the inner you, the version of yourself that has big dreams and isn’t defined by the hats we wear for everyone else.” (Johnson, 2020)

Understand Your Resilience

Johnson describes resilience as “having the ability to allow yourself to intensely feel your emotions and then begin to recognize what is within your control and taking action toward positive change.” Once we can clearly identify what is within and out of our control, we can start making strides on the things we have the power to change, push the things that are outside of our control out of our mental space, and take back command of our thoughts and daily actions.

Journal with Intention

Journaling is a practice expressed over-and-over again by self-help gurus and psychologists as a key driver of personal growth. The underlying challenge with journaling is that it can be flimsy due to lack of direction or intention. For this reason, Michaela created Empowered, a Motivational Journal for Women, to provide the very blueprint she uses for herself and with her clients, no matter where they are on their happiness journey’s. “This is a daily journal that is so much more than just a journal. It’s really a culmination of my own personal work and the work that I do with my clients. It’s an incredible tool to help women achieve their dreams, with daily from-the-heart prompts that will inspire to begin to walk their journey with their shoulders back and heads held high.” (Johnson, 2020)

Take Advantage of This Time You Have With Yourself

Due to our current situation, we are stuck with ourselves. Some see this as isolation, but those who are taking steps to improve themselves, both personally and professionally, are using this time to get closer to themselves, understand themselves better, and come t o grips with who we are and who we want to become. “There has really never been a better time (with a better excuse) to be the YOU, you want to be. You are in control of your choices…your choices to buy into the fear, your choices to be productive, your choices to take care of your mental health with mindfulness, and meditation. When you realize the power you have over your day, you can begin to see all that you can create.” (Johnson, 2020)

There is no better time than now. Take advantage of your time away from the office, away from your friends, and get closer to yourself. Imagine what you can do with the knowledge you’ll hold of your inner desires, your why, and the certainty you’ll have of the kind of person you are now, and the kind of person you wish to become. This is YOUR time, dive into it, and live authentically, courageously.