building resilience Archives

30 Oct 2025

Gratitude in the Unexpected

When you choose to only focus on what you expected to achieve or what you wanted to occur, a mindset shift for gratitude helps you notice the learning and opportunities that can come from life’s detours.

When I was travelling to BC, I expected that my holiday would be stress free – a time to relax and have fun.

Then the detour happened…my purse with all my ID was stolen. I was sad, angry, disappointed and overwhelmed.

Awhile later my mum suggested I write 3 things I could be grateful for from this disheartening incident.

I was shocked. What could I possibly appreciate?

I decided to give it a try.

I took pen to paper and wrote:

1. The kindness and generosity of the people around me who wanted to replace the items in my purse.

2. My brother-in-law (a police officer) immediately started to find ways to get me new identification so I could board the plane home.

3. A fun shopping trip with my mum to replace my purse.

When I chose to focus on what I appreciated rather than what I expected, a mindset shift for gratitude made it easier to let go of the tough emotions I was experiencing, and I was able to bounce back much quicker than I normally would.

Next time your child is facing a challenging time or a tough emotion, ask them to write or tell you 3 things they are grateful for to help them bounce back to move forward.

This is what I know: A mindset shift for gratitude works – not only for kids but also adults!

Until next time…

1 May 2024

How to Help a Child Overcome Loss

As children travel through life’s various challenges, they will inevitably need help to overcome loss.

Whether it’s in sports, extracurricular activities, relationships, or in everyday life, shielding kids from experiencing loss deprives them of the potential for personal growth and resilience.

Helping children overcome loss is vital for their development.

Be there for them as they confront and process the loss. Instead of trying to fix or change their emotions, listen to their thoughts and emotions with compassion and understanding.

Whether they are feeling sad, disappointed, angry or frustrated, create a space where they feel safe to express themselves. By recognizing and accepting their feelings, you teach them that it’s okay to experience a range of emotions and that they are not alone in their struggles.

Help them recognize that within every loss, there are often hidden opportunities or alternative paths waiting to be discovered. By reframing their perceptive on loss, they can often uncover hidden silver linings and find renewed hope and optimism.

Watch the video to learn one parent’s approach to his child losing her best friend.

Until next time…

3 May 2023

Does Your Child Compare Themselves to Others?

I recently heard this comment from a student, ‘I look around at others and they seem to have it all. Things would be easier if I could be them. I know I would be happier.’

This is what I know: It’s OK to admire others. The danger occurs when kids believe that they would be happier if they were someone else.

People’s lives often look better from the outside. They might post perfect pictures on social media or it may seem that things come easily to them or that they are happy all the time. Reminding our children that everyone has challenges and everyone experiences difficult emotions is essential to their overall well-being.

Instead of envying others, we must model and teach kids to choose to work on being the best person that they can be – to take pride in who they are and their uniqueness. Defining who they are and the character traits that are important to them helps build confidence, self-acceptance and resilience.

Here is an affirmation exercise to help your kids admire and love who they are:

Starting with ‘I am _____________and I am enough’, ask them to fill in the blank with the answer to this question: What do you want to believe about YOU? Some examples of what they could put in the blank are: confident, thoughtful, accepting, empathetic, kind.

Once completed, place it somewhere so that it is a visual reminder of what they want to believe about themselves.

Have your child repeat it daily. This will remind them that they are important, that they are somebody. It will create a feeling of happiness and pride the more they repeat and believe it.

Teaching children to celebrate and be proud of who they are compared to no one else, boosts their self-esteem, self-confidence and will ultimately make them feel capable of navigating day-to-day challenges and emotions.

Until next time…