Detour: Has Your Life Been Rerouted?

Have you ever considered how resilient you are?

Many of us do not have our full depth plumbed in this area of mental health, and for others it seems there is no end to the learning curve. Resiliency, adaptability, rebound, etc. are all terms used to describe our ability to venture through crisis and major change. If we do not adapt we do not survive. There are numerous people I have met over the years that have difficulty doing so, and therefore they do not thrive. That one moment, that one tragedy, those harsh words, that unexplained illness; all are hard to let go of and instead become the mark of the person who does learn to recover. We grow and change through these times, whether we can explain them or not.

I have shared a fair amount about my own struggle through burnout and recovering mental health. In this as with every struggle, resiliency is the key.

A friend of mine I got to know through some of my leadership training back in 2014 recently wrote a book on resiliency. Cam Taylor is someone who is also deeply into leadership and personal development, and I have actually linked to his blog in the past, www.camtaylor.net. He went through a pretty tragic accident with his wife on a motorcycle a couple of years before that and was still rehabilitating when I met him. This week the book is being released and I had the privilege of reading a pre-release copy! It is very good material with a lot of helpful suggestions for everyone, all based on the theme of resiliency. The ability to bounce back after we go through change or crisis is not always natural, and Cam uses his story to share what he learned. Over the next week I will be promoting it on the blog and through social media.

Cam’s story is not unlike many of yours. Something happens which dramatically changes what you do and the question is no longer ‘why?’, but becomes ‘what now?’ Cam addresses this transition in thinking throughout the book and provides many good insights into continually doing so. Especially when we do not feel like it. Each chapter provides great insight through each stage of his developing resiliency. The beauty of his story is that it is redemptive and restorative. We have the privilege of asking the same questions, taking the steps, Cam did at each stage of pain and growth.

This book will help you reconsider each event in your life as an ‘opporversity’ rather than a list of tragedies.

If you are not much of a reader, take heart. It is a short read, with short chapters. Processing is something you can do on your own or with someone walking with you. Each chapter ends with suggestions for follow through and questions to ponder and reflect upon. When you go to the website you will also have the opportunity to purchase extra material to use with the book. Just click the link at the bottom of this post and it will take you where you need to go.

I have found what Cam has to say is most helpful regardless of the type of struggle. His words on resiliency have spoken to me as I reflect on the road I have travelled in being re-constructed over the past year. I am continuing my series on burnout and mental health on the blog, and I think this book fits in quite nicely.

Check out Detour: A Roadmap for When Life Gets Rerouted and let me know what you think!

Here is a link to take a look at the book site, as well as some of the resources he is offering to accompany the book:  www.camtaylor.net/detour/