The Box of Life

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A metaphor for life.

Another way of looking at the issue of resiliency is to imagine life as a box.

Picture the Box of Life and decide what fills it up. Some people have the strategy of filling the box with just one thing. For example, some people fill the Box of Life with work. They tend to look at life through the lens of work. When work is going well than life looks good. If there is a bad day at work then life can look frustrating and depressing. For other people the Box of Life is filled with the "one thing" of a relationship. When the relationship is good then life is good. When the relationship is poor then life seems negative. Filling the Box of Life with just one thing is not a good strategy.

Ideally the Box of Life is divided into many compartments and each is filled with something meaningful, fun, or creative.

Your Box of Life may be filled with work, family, church, hobbies, pets, reading, exercise and so on. On a day when work is not good you have other lenses through which to view life. Work may be only one-ninth of life that is not good but the other 8/9’s are fine. With a Box of Life filled with variety you have many choices to revitalize yourself. Your resiliency will be high and you will bounce back because of your many resources.

Attitude is a key to being a resilient person. Learn more about "Adjusting your attitude."

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