How Finding What You Enjoy Can Increase Your Resilience

Summary

The Banff Mountain Film Festival showcases individuals who have found joy in their passions, such as a 90-year-old figure skater, Yvonne Dowlen, illustrating how engaging in enjoyable activities can enhance resilience and well-being.

Abstract

The Banff Mountain Film Festival highlights a diverse group of individuals, including a nonagenarian figure skater, who demonstrate the power of engaging in activities that bring them joy. The festival features stories of resilience, such as Yvonne Dowlen, who continued to skate competitively after overcoming significant health challenges. Observing these individuals, particularly Dowlen's serene and uplifting presence on the ice, suggests that finding what one enjoys can lead to a more spontaneous and less self-critical approach to life's pursuits. This engagement in enjoyable activities is posited to foster present-moment living, reduce stress, and increase one's ability to cope with life's challenges, ultimately contributing to enhanced physical and mental health.

Opinions

The author is inspired by the stories of individuals who have found joy and resilience through their passions, as depicted in the Banff Mountain Film Festival.
Watching Yvonne Dowlen, the 90-year-old figure skater, is described as a serene and uplifting experience that exemplifies the benefits of doing what one loves.
The author emphasizes the importance of shifting focus from internal thoughts and worries to the activity at hand to achieve a state of flow and enjoyment.
Engaging in enjoyable activities is seen as a way to break free from a cycle of stress and worry, allowing individuals to live in the present moment and replenish their energy.
The author reflects on their personal experience, noting that when they allow themselves to write and draw without self-judgment, the outcome is more enjoyable and spontaneous.
The article suggests that finding joy in activities can increase resilience, enabling individuals to better cope with difficult life events.
Yvonne Dowlen is celebrated for her approach to life, living each moment to the fullest without being preoccupied with the past or future.
The author recommends an AI service, ZAI.chat, as a cost-effective alternative to ChatGPT Plus (GPT-4), highlighting its value for those who enjoyed the article's insights.

How Finding What You Enjoy Can Increase Your Resilience

Inspiration from the Banff Mountain Film Festival

“Water in a shallow mountain valley in Kluane National Park” by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash

What do a round the world cyclist, a mountain biking painter, three kite skiing, kayaking trekkers and a 90 year-old ice skater have in common? For this year’s festival they all feature in films doing what they enjoy.

I was particularly affected by the nine minute film about Yvonne Dowlen, a 90 year old figure skater. Vital and full of zest, here she was gliding across the ice with perfect balance. She’d been skating for 75 years, overcoming a serious accident at the age of 80 and a stroke when she was 88, each time resuming competitive skating.

It’s a serene and uplifting experience to watch her. In the interview she rarely stops smiling and on the ice she’s completely absorbed in what she’s doing.

More often now I can focus and feel that sense of enjoyment when I’m writing or drawing. It might be for 10 minutes or it could be hours. But either way there’s usually something I like about what I’ve produced because it feels more spontaneous. I haven’t laboured over it; I’ve allowed myself to write and to draw without fretting over every word and mark.

If I’m self-conscious when I draw or write, what I end up with is pretty rubbish. It needs a level of relaxation to stop judging myself and become absorbed. That means shifting my focus from what’s going on in my head to what I’m doing.

Focusing on activities we enjoy releases our minds from a constant stream of thoughts, worries, concerns and imagined scenarios. We don’t ruminate about the past or worry about the future because we’re living in the present moment.

We replenish the energy we lose with stress, worry and ‘what ifs’ and we become more resilient. We’re more able to cope with difficult or unexpected life events while protecting and nourishing our physical health.

Yvonne Dowlen died on the ice at the age of 90. She wasn’t caught up in the past or worrying about the future. She lived every moment doing what she enjoyed.