Barbara Alfors Coaching and Consulting

Be in choice, be aligned, know your path, know your genius.

Tag: Resilience

Resilience and Neuroscience

I’ve been a proponent of mindfulness practices for years now, and I believe they are truly useful in making our lives go more smoothly.
I took a webinar the other day that explained why – the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which controls our higher-level thinking, has limited capacity. This is the part of the brain that manages emotions and refocuses attention. When we are using our limbic system for thinking, we are overly reactive and don’t use that higher-level thinking. (The limbic system contains the amygdala, which you may be familiar with from the term “amygdala hijack.”) 

So how do we build our capacity for higher level thinking and managing emotions? Mindfulness practices! 
And how do we connect to the higher level thinking of our prefrontal cortex? Mindfulness again! 

How does all this connect to resilience? We can think of resilience as the ability to recover after an upset, so having greater capacity to manage our emotions can help us recover more quickly. 

It seems that most people have a hard time keeping a regular mindfulness practice (myself included!), so learning about how it expands our capacity for managing emotions is a useful motivation for me! 

I’ve got some mindfulness resources here;  and I found this article on resilience and brain plasticity interesting as well:  https://thebestbrainpossible.com/neuroscience-resilient-brain-stress/ .  If you’re interested in the different parts of the brain, this is a good read: https://www.therevisionist.org/reviews/role-of-prefrontal-cortex-in-cognitive-function/


If you would like to explore how to brighten your path, or are just curious about coaching, contact me to schedule a complimentary discovery session.

How Will Transformation Look for You?

feeling the joy of dancing on an empty beach

Are you ready for a shift?

Maybe you’d like to start small; taking on a new challenge or building your resilience. Or you might be ready for a major change, either in your career or in your life. 

How will transformation look for you? What will your life be like? Just imagine for a moment; when you are able to move forward how will your life be different? Let’s take away what’s holding you back.

We all need a champion to support us through changes. Give yourself permission to take the next step. Gain the clarity to move ahead in life instead of letting questioning, uncertainty, doubt drain your energy. 

If you would like to explore how to brighten your path, or are just curious about coaching,  contact me to schedule a complimentary discovery session.

The Only Way Out is Through It


Most of us are used to being in control, at least to some degree. Right now, control is one thing we don’t have a lot of! Not being able to see friends and family. Jobs and income may be gone, or uncertain. School has been a challenge, and we have no idea what it might look like in the next school year. Even shopping is no longer the fun diversion it once was.

And rather than get stuck in the “what-ifs,” we can take back some feeling of control by acknowledging that we still can choose how we react. We can choose to believe that we will be able to handle whatever might come next, even if it’s going to take some time to figure out. One way to do this is to remind yourself of any adversity you’ve faced in the past and overcome. 

It’s completely expected that we have down days, or feel overwhelmed. And we know this situation might last for a while. But we are resilient; we can pull on both our inner and outer resources to help us keep going. Reconnect with old friends, set up a group zoom call, take a walk in nature, or find a calming practice such as meditation. Maybe find a way to help those who are worse off than you. It’s important to take care of ourselves when we have additional stress, and most of us have some increased stress right now! 

This situation is largely beyond our control, but the only way out is through it. Let’s keep pushing forward together! 


I want to help out if anyone needs someone to listen; I’ve created a meetup group that will have zoom calls where we can help support each other. Join here: https://www.meetup.com/Denver-Connection-and-Support-Meetup/ and I hope to see you at one of the events! 

Drop me a line if you have any questions or suggestions, or just want to talk. barbara@barbaraalfors.com If you are curious about coaching, contact me to schedule a complimentary discovery session.


#Resilience
#InTheseUncertainTimes
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