THE SEVEN HABITS OF PERSONAL, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

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THE SEVEN HABITS OF PERSONAL, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

Robert Waldrop
Resilience is the ability to successfully meet and surmount challenges, obstacles, and problems.

1. Prudence, preparation, and planning

Since ancient times we've been telling each other and our children stories and proverbs about how important it is to watch for dangers and take precautions. Look before you leap, watch where you're going, a stitch in time saves nine, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, hindsight is always 20/20 -- it's foresight you have to work on, these are just a few of the ways that we teach the cultural and personal importance of watching out for yourself and others that you are responsible for. This is an important habit because while the world is full of blessings and opportunities, it is also a risky and hazardous place. The point of "watching out" is to avoid trouble, and sometimes that requires making preparations. The regular practice of prudence and preparedness helps a family or community successfully surmount challenges.

2. Creativity and adaptability

Sometimes problems that seem very big need to be viewed from a different angle of observation. We get enclosed in boxes that limit our ability to see an entire picture. A rapidly changing world means we have to get out of our boxes in order to see enough of the picture that we can authentically respond. Sometimes we need to see the possibilities of new relationships, new connections, new uses for old systems or machines or resources, or new ways of using those systems to do new things. We are an adaptable race, and the ability to creatively meet changing situations, especially if the change is negative, is a positive indicator of community and family resilience. If systems are breaking down, we must discover new and better systems that are not so brittle and vulnerable.

3. Pro-activity

Either you will act on this situation or it will act on you. A decision to do nothing about this is a decision to make the situation worse. It won't get better by itself. A flat tire is a flat tire, it has to be changed. Standing there and wishing it were otherwise, or denying that the tire is flat, gets you nowhere. Positive action in support of safety and security is evidence of resilience in a family and a community.

4. Solidarity and cooperation

When the going gets rough, nobody gets thrown to the wolves. This is a basic principle of a human civilization of life and love; we ignore it to our peril. Our first concern is naturally for those who are closest to us, but that can't be the extent of our involvement. Our families are only as secure as our communities. Studies of past disasters show clearly the importance of cooperation in successfully meeting and surmount a challenge. The more solidarity and cooperation that is evident in a society, the more resilient it is when faced with big problems.

5. Responsibility

Our system works in part because most people willingly assume responsibility and carry out their duties. It's an important aspect of life, our civilization would be impossible without it. Your social responsibilities include making a best effort to ensure that you have done your part to prepare for disaster and disruptions of normal life. The more people that assume responsibility and carry out their duties in life, the more resilient is the community. In a time of disaster, everybody must accept responsibility for maintaining community values, order, health, and safety.

6. Awareness of environment

It's easy to get into the routine of life, and go through the motions practically oblivious to what everybody else is up to. We trust our environment because we know it really well and generally have a handle on its risks. But Y2K may bring disruptions of that normality. To cope with changing circumstances, we must practice our ability to observe, understand, and generally be aware of our environment.

7. Holistic methodology

We live in an age of specialization, but Y2K is a reminder that there are some things that everybody should know how to do. Crisis and challenge call us to expand our horizons, to look for solutions in unusual places and people. We understand that nobody is an island, we are all connected. We can't cope with Y2K in isolation with other issues. If there are stresses and strains in a society or family, disruptions due to Y2K can make those situations worse, sometimes a lot worse. Thus, we must bring all that we have and are to the table in the search for solutions, including our spirituality, our values, our relationships.
One for the road...

Critt

-- Critt Jarvis (newground@critt.com), July 29, 1999

Answers

best advise YET.develope friendships NOW.=network.theres still alot of good folks around. cultivate-relationships. a true friend is more valuable than gold.-anyone remember how it used to be?

-- al-d. (dogs@zianet.com), July 29, 1999.

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