What living in Manali taught me about Resilience
For some context, I moved to Manali in August 2020 as my new workplace was fully remote. I still vividly remember thinking about how life was going to change — Clean air and outdoors leading to better health, a change of scene which was going to break the monotony. But oh boy, did I ever imagine Manali to create a dent on my heart, mind and soul the way it did!
Resilience, as per the definition is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Experts suggest there are ways to build it, that you can actually train your brain to become more resilient.
I don’t do anything remotely close to that, but observing the lifestyle of locals in Manali, the shepherds I spoke to while on hikes/treks and learning from the wisest of all: children made me self aware about my attitude and responses to difficult situations. In the next section, I’ve tried my best to articulate the prime obstacle to developing resilience.
Running from setbacks — major or minor
A lot of us have an inbuilt goal of chasing comfort and a life free from hardships of any kind. So much so we would do anything to avoid it.
When we live in an ecosystem (cities, essentially) where the only limitation is money, the solution to most discomfort can we bought. Can’t cook? Hire one. Public transport is inconvenient? Uber. A teeny repair work at home? Call a handyman. The list goes on. Basically, we’re now accustomed to eliminate most hardships with materialism. And when life throws us with anything more grave, we find ourselves in a blur to be able to navigate it.
Manali, and everyday inconveniences
But what happens when you live in a place where most of these solutions don’t actually exist or are too complex to work? What happens when your day is filled with minor inconveniences? How do you respond to those situations, and life in general, to stay positive and overcome those? Welcome to living in Manali!
Don’t get me wrong, you can have a very comfortable life here too, but I chose to live without any additional luxuries. So after a really long day at work and tiring hikes, the dinner would still be homemade. When the non electrical water filter was too slow, I and my flatmate would hike up to carry 20 litres of fresh spring water.
Our perception towards any uncertain situation determines how well we overcome it. Accepting difficulties to be a natural part of our life make us ready to navigate it with optimism and level headedness.
Resilience: Conquering the mindset
In July 2021, I and a few friends decided to spend the summer holidays trekking Hampta Pass, without guides/porters. At the time I was extremely under-confident about my physical abilities and quite frankly freaking out the day we were supposed to leave. Through the trek, we survived on bare essential food and as the trek got more difficult and steep, we were just worn out. But personally, the most difficult part of the entire trek were the first two hours. Underconfidence, negativity, and reluctance to accept the situation made me more exhausted than the mighty mountains.
We underestimate how powerful our mind is, how beautiful is the impact of our determination, and just how strong willed you can become.
Observing the experts
Coming back to the people of Manali. Living in a place which can be harsh, the infrastructure only recently developing, their lifestyle doesn’t scream comfort (by our standards). Extrapolate to situations like dealing with a loss, existential crisis or experiencing difficulty in close relationships. Fundamentally, our brain responds to these in a pretty much similar fashion: fight or flight.
Apply the rule by which people of Manali live, and you’d be focused on:
Accepting the pain (necessary part of life)
Navigating the pain (life goes on)
Being thankful for what you have (gratitude)
People of Manali teach you to not take every setback in your stance, they constantly remind you to value what matters most: community, relationships, good health and creating fulfilling experiences.
