Staying on Course | Healthy Community Living

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Staying on Course



Staying on Course

“I can’t change this, but I can conquer it.”

– Unknown

 





Man in wheelchair using ramp

Introduction

  • On the path to your goal, you may feel frustrated when you encounter roadblocks that require taking a detour and solving problems
  • Solving problems can be stressful!
  • Stress and frustration can lead to feelings of discouragement
  • Staying on course toward your goal is about addressing and managing stress, frustration and discouragement
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Man in wheelchair wearing winter coat

Peer Support

  • In the Healthy Reactions session of this workshop, we learned that our feelings come from thoughts rather than from the events or circumstances of our lives
  • The same is true for encouragement
  • Peers and friends encourage us by changing our thoughts
  • This gives us hope that we can solve our problems
  • We can be an encouraging friend to ourselves in the same way
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Woman in wheelchair going into a polling place

Self Talk

  • In the last section, we talked about the encourager as someone whose supportive words challenge discouragement
  • In a way, we each have an encourager in our minds who can lift us up when we feel discouraged
  • You may need to develop your encouraging inner voice so you feel less discouraged
  • Unfortunately, the inner voice inside us may be who is discouraging, negative and belittling
  • The negative voice criticizes your mistakes and faults, instead of being positive and hopeful about your ability to move forward
  • When frustration hits, which voice do you listen to?
  • If you listen to the negative for too long, you can begin to doubt your ability to solve problems
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Woman laughing and holding microphone

Building Momentum

  • For many of us, it is not enough to silence our negative and discouraging inner voice in order to stay on course toward our goals
  • We also need to wake up our supportive encouraging voice
  • We need to hear that we are good and can solve problems and achieve our important goals
  • We need to challenge the discouraging voice and invite the encouraging one
  • To do this, watch for your successes and begin to expect that you will continue to be successful
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A window with a cold landscape outside

Discouragement & Depression

  • When you are frustrated and discouraged, your feelings can spiral downward
  • It can feel like steps, from frustrated to angry to discouraged to depressed
  • At times like this, everyone could use help to climb back up
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Resources

Session Worksheets

My Challenge Worksheet

My Positive Affirmations

Online Resources

Article: How to Cope with Depression

Article: How to Reduce Stress Through Mindfulness

Article: How to Bounce Back

Website: UCLA MARC Free Guided Meditations

Guide: Depression and Disability A Practical Guide (PDF)

Video Credits

Back on Track to Success

Spinal Cord Injury BC



Previous Session:

Healthy Reactions

Next Session:

Healthy Communication

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