There are key qualities which separate those who survive and those who thrive in tough times, says KnowHow founder Bushy Martin.
In a recent live ‘Bush Bite’ video on Facebook, Bushy said that everybody will endure great struggles across their lifetime, but it’s their decisions and approaches to situations that will determine whether they survive or thrive.
“The reality is that adversity doesn’t discriminate. At some stage in life, whether it be now, before or in the future, we’re all going to suffer from adversity. But it’s how we react to it that makes the difference,” he said.
“Let’s face it, the only big difference with what we’re currently living through now is that every single one of us is currently challenged by our radically uncertain and rapidly changing times. It’s a 24/7 global exercise, and our fear and anxiety as a result of that collectively is being fuelled by the 24/7 fear mongering media campaign.”
Bushy said he is ‘sick’ of the victim mentality, the commentary around ‘how bad our situation is’ and how we need to instead focus on finding a way through these difficult times.
“We need direction on what things can we do that’s going to help us get through these times,” he said.
“And numerous university studies have repeatedly demonstrated that those who not only survive but thrive during tough times, all exhibit one key quality. And that key quality is resilience. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficult times and often do that very quickly.”
Bushy revealed three simple strategies and approaches to help build your resilience into a habit, which are suffering, focus and help or harm.
Firstly, suffering involves embracing adversity and suffering as ‘a normal part of life’.
“What has become obvious is that people who survive and thrive through resilience accept that suffering is part of the act. So by accepting that, we don’t become a victim and we don’t say ‘why me?’ he said.
“Then we look at how we can benefit from the suffering as we go through that … it’s about what can I do now to change it, and it’s about focusing on what you can control and ignoring what you can’t control.”
He said the second approach to resilience revolves around focus and where people put their attention.
“Resilient people accept what’s going on and focus on the good stuff. [For example] something that’s worked really well for me is every day when I start work I write down three things I’m grateful for and the three wins I had yesterday. And it doesn’t seem like much, but those simple things can make a big difference,” he said.
“It means that you’re not ignoring the negative, but you’re focusing on the positive and that becomes very empowering in terms of enabling you to focus on what you need to be doing.”
Bushy then talked about the third component, which is continually asking ‘is what I’m doing helping me or harming me?’
“It’s a really empowering question that you should be asking yourself with everything you do and everything you don’t do, and if what you’re doing or not doing is not helping you, stop doing it and start doing something that’s going to help you…so by asking you that simple question, you can really start to move towards what you need to do.”
Beyond the quality of resilience, Bushy also discussed the importance of cutting costs now while you still can.
“I’ve been encouraging everyone to start cutting their costs now and it’s becoming more and more relevant that if at any stage you believe that you may need to tighten the belt, don’t wait until it’s too late because you may not be able to,” he said.
“What we’re noticing is the banks are really tightening up. They have put temporary suspensions on some people they’ll borrow to, so if you’re in certain industries, you can’t borrow money anymore at the moment. And they’re trimming back on what they’ll allow you to buy. So we’re seeing them get rid of overtime commissions, any extra payments, they’re shaving rental. So, what they’re doing is reducing your ability to borrow to protect their risk.
“We’re also starting to see potential issues with valuations. So, you might think, well, I’ll just refinance my home loan if the bank values it and they value down on what they expect it to, you may not be able to do it.
“Now these things are changing every day at the moment. It’s getting tighter and tighter very quickly.”
He stressed that if you’re worried about your financial future and whether you need to cut costs, you should contact KnowHow.
“The banks are also so busy, they’re taking a long time to even start to have a look at your situation. So, I encourage you to pick up the phone if you don’t have time. Give us a call, because if you don’t move on this in the very near future, there’s a fair chance that when you get around to doing it, you won’t be able to do anything about it.”
KnowHow founder Bushy Martin shares regular, live ‘Bush Bite’ videos on his Facebook page sharing tips and tricks to cut costs, boost your savings and take advantage of opportunities in property. Connect with Bushy here.
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