Last week I started my 8-week Wellbeing program with young people. This program is about helping them to become mentally stronger and more resilient so they can cope with life’s challenges.

Following the first session, I reflected that we are all stronger than we realise.

There were kids that lived an hour away and had no way of getting there after school or TAFE, so they skateboarded or jumped on multiple buses to attend.

Sometimes it’s easy to say, “I can’t do this”, or, “I can’t get there”, but if you really want to grow as a person there is always a way to turn up, achieve the goal and work through your challenges so you can grow those brain/neural pathways to build your resilience one day at a time.

Some of the kids that came along last week had valid excuses for not being able to get there but they each made the decision that they wanted to better themselves and they were willing to find a way to do so.

We are much more resilient than we realise, and at times it’s as simple as just turning up and learning to be temporarily uncomfortable. Turning up becomes a great habit in life, in much the same way that not turning up adds no value to your life.