Being in flow is often referred to as being in the zone – a state of intense involvement in an activity to the exclusion of all else. With the experience being so enjoyable that the person would do it, even at great cost to themselves.

We all want to have a sense of purpose and meaning; a sense that we matter.

We live in a world that encapsulates the VUCA acronym: Volatile; Unknown; Complex; Ambiguous. Successfully navigating this requires a psychological fitness the foundation of which is resilience.

It is a given that there will be obstacles and problems in life. When this occurs, we are challenged to look at our perception of control. How we perceive control will impact our stress levels positively or negatively either progressing or delaying our return to baseline.

Low Frustration Tolerance (LFT) occurs when we get frustrated easily. It is characterised by an inability to emotionally regulate responses to stressors and is sometimes referred to as “can’t-stand -itis” as people who experience LFT can complain about not being able to stand this or that.

Warrior Psychotherapy draws on the core elements of courage, morality, honour, problem solving, excellence, communication, flexibility and adaptability, toughness and situational awareness to optimise performance, resilience, wellbeing and mental strength

How you view stress matters. It will impact your thinking and your actions. Where stress is perceived as harmful common responses include avoidance or reduction/numbing e.g., alcohol/substances or some other form of distraction.

Sometimes who we are can get lost in the busyness of what we do or what we need to do. At times like these it is important to step back and review how we are living our lives. Are we just going through the motions? Or, are we engaged and inspired?

Life is complicated. The very busyness of it can create time famine and render us overwhelmed. That’s where grit or mental strength comes in. It involves resilience, willpower, skill, hard work, consistency, passion, perseverance and commitment. It is a key factor in achieving goals and is the foundation of long-term success. Can you develop mental strength? Absolutely. Here’s some strategies to help with just that:

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficult experiences. It is the ability to readily recover from the experience of tragedy, significant sources of stress, illness, depression and adversity. It is the ability to find solutions in a crisis. It is about seeing what has occurred as an opportunity and not a disaster .

Restructuring and downsizing in government and private sectors has led to fewer human resources, increased workloads, longer working hours, time famine, information overload and increased stress levels. Strategies for managing this include:

Jean-Paul Sartre said, “We are our choices.” Existentialists believe that who we are and how we live our lives is the result of our choices. Embracing that freedom also requires that we accept responsibility for directing our lives. How does this view factor in with technology and social media? Here are some suggestions:

We have come a long way from the Internet being an idea shared by a few scientists as a way to more effectively share research and ideas. It coupled with the advent of increasingly more portable and affordable devices such as laptops, notebooks, iPads and smart phones has encouraged technological salience and revolutionised communication.

The negative impacts of prolonged, excessive and unmanaged stress are extensively documented and include: