In the fourth episode of the special episode series, we are looking into the area of mental well-being through the power of Adaptability with Rachel Cole. Rachel is an award-winning musician, business owner, and founder of a non-profit organization. She started the Choose Happiness project as a way to encourage people to consciously make joy a priority regardless of what life throws their way or what is going on in the world. It consists of videos, blogs, and interviews with experts in the field, and her accompanying book, titled Choose Happiness and has a second book on the way!
To find out more about Rachel and her work, you can find Rachel on Instagram @rcchoosehappy, Facebook at @RCChooseHappiness and on youtube Choose Happiness.
She also has a book called Choose Happiness, which you can check out from here.
Here is a brief overview of the topics we touched upon during the episode!
You only have a few minutes before the fire hits your house – what do you grab?
At the beginning of the episode, Rachel told us a very personal and touching story about how she and her family, as well as her whole neighborhood had to go through during and after a very unfortunate event of a sudden forest fire in their home neighborhood. When one only has a couple of minutes to grab the most valuable and important things from their home, everything else gets left behind.
She proceeds to explain to us the traumatic nature of the situation after the fire was over, and the rollercoaster of emotion they as a family had to go through. ”You couldn’t fake that the last 3 months didn’t happen. It was always there. We definitely relive the trauma everyday.”, she describes, as she vividly paints us a picture of the new reality of the state of their home and life. ”I couldn’t dig into my toolbox and use these, the normal things. So then what do you do?”.
I remember thinking to myself, I hate we to have to go through this trauma, but I’m grateful that we’re all together.
Rachel Cole
Gratitude – you’re safe.
”I would say the very first thing we leaned into was gratitude. Gratitude because the house is standing. Gratitudes for the firefighters because our backfence did burn about 30 feet away from our house. So that’s how close it came.” Rachel describes.
”When we got upset, because other really weird things happen, like when they were power washing the house from the such and we had a huge flood in the basement. That was no fun. But then you go outside and turn to your left and see the houses that are gone.”.
Most people couldn’t ever imagine the situation the families living in the neighbourhood had found themselves in. An life event of this scale really puts things into perspective, and forces you to become grateful towards the things and people around you you have. As cliche as it might sound, continuously choosing to look at the positive side of things is the only way to keep going and getting through the situation.
”Gratitude, gratitude. That is really, I think, what has saved us. Choosing gratitude, immensely.”
Rachel Cole
Choosing to look at the positive side of things during difficult times isn’t always easy, says Rachel. But it is worth it. Sometimes it helps to use a little humor in the situation. And trying to find the possibilities ti help others in the situation. When people work together as a community, almost any though situation or obstacle can be exceed.
To listen hear the whole story as well as more tips on how adaptability can help you overcome challenging situations in life listen to the full episode from here or on your preferred podcast platform by searching The Art and Science of Joy. Remember to subscribe to the podcast for more episodes on Joy Superpowers, and inspiration for you to start living a more joyful life!
