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ORGANIC FOOD

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ORGANIC FOOD

You are what you eat. This is a true saying that links your food consumption to your health.

When I first decided to make a lifestyle change, I received numerous recommendations, some relating to my age, others to my weight, and still others for the prevention of age-related ailments. All I wanted was to stay healthy so that I wouldn’t become a burden to my children in my old age. Among the suggestions was that I eat more fruits and vegetables, preferably organic ones. Now, the latter part of the advice presented some difficulties for me because I do not own a farm. How do I tell if something is organic?

 

“Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Organizations regulating organic products may restrict the use of certain pesticides and fertilizers in the farming methods used to produce such products. Organic foods typically are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or synthetic food additives.”- Wikipedia

 

Organic produce has the following characteristics:

 

  1. Organic foods are grown with natural fertilizers, as opposed to inorganic foods, which are grown with chemical and synthetic fertilizers. When chemicals and synthetic fertilizers are used to grow produce, some residues remain in the produce after harvesting, which may be consumed and cause one or more ailments.
  2. Pest control is done with natural pesticides during organic product farming. Chemical pesticides are used to control pests in non-organic produce, and some of these pesticides are transferred to the produce.
  3. Organic produce is weeded by hand, whereas non-organic produce is weeded with herbicides. The manual weeding process ensures that no chemicals are transferred to the harvested produce.
  4. Organic livestock feeds are GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) and hormone-free, whereas inorganic livestock feeds contain chemicals to aid growth, making it unsafe for human consumption. Animals are more likely to contract diseases when fed chemically induced feeds or animal bye products.
  5. Organic livestock use hygienic environments, healthy feeds, and rotational grazing to prevent disease, whereas inorganic livestock use antibiotics and other medication, and when animals are treated with antibiotics, they tend to develop antibiotic-resistant disease over time.
  6. Organic livestock are permitted to graze outside, whereas inorganic livestock is normally confined and may not be permitted to graze outside. Allowing animals enough space to move around keeps them healthy.
  7. Organic foods are typically fresher, though they have a shorter shelf life, particularly perishables like fruits and vegetables, due to the absence of chemical preservatives in such produce.

 

 

Organic farming is good for the environment because it reduces pollution, improves soil fertility, poses no health risks to people and animals living near farms, and reduces soil erosion. The produce obtained through the Organic farming method has been found to be more healthy, owing to the fact that the product is in its natural state, having not been tempered by the introduction of chemicals or having their genes altered by the GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) and GE (genetically Engineered) farming methods.

 

The efforts and resources put into producing organic products cannot be compared to those put into producing inorganic produce. Inorganic farmers produce on a large scale, which is why they require chemicals to aid their fast production in order to meet demand. A six-month-old organic chicken, for example, cannot be compared in size and weight to an inorganic chicken because the inorganic chicken has been fed feeds that will cause it to grow large in a few months and aid in egg production.

 

Because of the above, organic products are typically expensive and, to some extent, scarce. If you want to save money while still buying organic produce, consider the following:

 

–      Go to your local markets. On most occasions, farmers will arrange to take their produce to a pre-arranged market on certain days of the week; these markets are usually in the open air, where they will sell their freshly harvested produce; you can be certain to buy organic produce from such environments. So learn about the various market days for various products in your area.

–      There are different types of products for different seasons; make sure to buy produce that is in season. You can also buy such products in bulk and keep it with you for when it is no longer in season. However, not all products can be handled in this manner. A good example of what I do is buy fresh tomatoes in bulk during their season, enough to last me until the next season, blend them, boil and freeze them, and use them gradually until the next season.

–      You might want to join a food cooperative, where organic food is purchased in bulk and shared among members. Buying in bulk almost always equals buying at a lower cost and buying directly from the source, a local farm. The sources, in this case, are local farmers chosen by the cooperative.

–      Compare organic produce prices at the store, online, and at the farmer’s market, but don’t be fooled; some produce at the store may appear cheaper but be low-quality organic produce, or they may simply be labeled organic; read produce content to determine the level of preservative they contain. Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

 

 

If you are having second thoughts about eating organic food right now, consider the following saying:

 

“Organic is something we can all partake of and benefit from. When we demand organic, we are demanding poison-free food. We are demanding clean air. We are demanding pure, fresh water. We are demanding soil that is free to do its job and seeds that are free of toxins. We are demanding that our children be protected from harm. We all need to bite the bullet and do what needs to be done—buy organic whenever we can, insist on organic, fight for organic and work to make it the norm. We must make organic the conventional choice and not the exception available only to the rich and educated.” – Maria Rodale

 

 

 

Sources 

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm

RADICAL ACCEPTANCE

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RADICAL ACCEPTANCE

Hall K. defines Radical Acceptance as the ability to accept situations beyond your control without judging them, thereby reducing the suffering caused by them.

Although both are unpleasant situations, the terms pain and suffering are frequently used interchangeably. While pain is a physical or external unpleasant situation over which we have no control, suffering is primarily our reaction to the pain we experience; it is internal and under our control. When faced with a particular type of pain, we may choose to ignore it, struggle with it, live in denial, or allow ourselves to sink into self-pity, then depression.

Suffering is a choice we make; it is internal, but the pain is external; we have no control over it.

Because pain is unavoidable as a part of life, there will always be opportunities to practice radical acceptance.

 

The Buddhist belief that suffering is caused by one’s attachment to the pain inflicted on such a person is the foundation of Radical Acceptances. In other words, the appropriate reaction to pain is to acknowledge it but not become attached to it, because the pain is not our responsibility, but how we deal with it is. Marsha Linehan, a psychologist, proposed dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in 1993 for people who have been diagnosed with dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and are gradually drifting towards depression. He taught them how to practice tolerance of their situation by accepting it but not dwelling on it in order to alleviate their suffering.

 

Radical acceptance does not imply that one does not feel the pain; rather, it is an intentional act of refusing to allow the pain to result in suffering. It is not an act that can be completed overnight; it takes time to reach the point where pain is accepted but suffering is rejected. As long as there is pain, which can take many forms, not getting caught up in it is always one step closer to overcoming it. This is extreme acceptance.

 

Radical Acceptance does not imply approval of the painful situation; rather, it indicates that you are not in denial but do not approve of it. When you reach this point, you will want to do something other than wallow in your misery. Acceptance is not the same as approval. For example, instead of dwelling on the loss of a close relative, someone who has gone through grief may want to seek professional help.

 

Radical acceptance does not imply giving up on yourself. A 2019 meta-analysisTrusted Source demonstrates that cancer patients who accept their situation have fewer psychological issues than their counterparts. This is due to the fact that those who accepted their situation feel more relaxed and at ease while undergoing treatment.

 

Forgiveness is not the same as radical acceptance. Pain inflicted by another requires you to forgive the person who inflicts the pain on you, but radical acceptance requires you to forgive yourself so you can move away from the situation rather than dwell on it until you suffer.

 

If you have thoughts like the ones below when confronted with pain, you know you need to practice radical acceptance.

-Why me?

-I don’t think I’ll be able to get over this!

-This is totally unacceptable!

-This should never have occurred!

-This does not seem fair!

-Why do bad things keep happening to me?

-I’m sorry this happened to me.

-This has never happened before to anyone 

-This is not right

 

In a situation over which one has no control and which elicits strong emotions, radical acceptance is required. Mind your thoughts, take note of how the situation is affecting you, take a deep breath, go for a walk, and accept that pain is an inevitable part of life. Recognize that you are not perfect, and forgive yourself if you believe you contributed to the occurrence.

 

Radical Acceptance should not be practiced in cases of harassment, abusive relationships, extremely dangerous situations, situations where you have control, and so on. It can be used in situations such as divorce, loss of a loved one, painful pasts, job loss, and so on.

 

 

 

 

Sources 

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-radical-acceptance-5120614#citation-1

https://psychcentral.com/blog/what-it-really-means-to-practice-radical-acceptance#when-to-use-it

An interview with a CU Boulder MS-EE alumnus John Trytko

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An interview with a CU Boulder MS-EE alumnus John Trytko

Learn how performance-based admissions, affordability, and flexibility of the MS-EE program with CU Boulder helped John Trytko achieve his goals.

An interview with CU Boulder Graduate John Trytko

John Trytko graduated with a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

We recently spoke with John regarding his background, active role, and overall experience with the Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MS-EE) program, hosted by Coursera, and how the program helped him achieve his goals. 

When did you first enroll in the MS-EE program on the Coursera platform?

I enrolled in October 2019, the first semester the MS-EE on Coursera program was launched. I received an email regarding the program and was at a point in my life where I wanted to go in a new direction.

Can you tell us about your educational and work experience background before you enrolled in this program? 

I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 2012 from the University of Colorado at Boulder. 

I started work as a research assistant at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2009 while I was an undergraduate at CU. Later, I worked at Seagate Technology, and then Particle Measuring Systems. I left Particle Measuring Systems to pursue my master’s degree full-time.

There were a variety of factors as to why I decided to get my master’s. I was looking to do more design engineering, and my work was shifting to a different role which would further move me away from that goal. I was considering my options, and then I learned about the MS-EE program.

What initially drew you to this program?

Initially, it was the flexibility and the cost of the program, as well as the performance-based admission. The program was significantly less expensive than most master’s degree programs, and I had the option to switch to on-campus courses if I didn’t like learning online. Since the program was performance-based admission, I could skip the tedious admission process and just start learning.

I think people assume that an online program is going to be inferior to an on-campus program. I certainly started with that line of thinking but found the reverse to be true.

Back during my undergraduate degree, I would wake up earlier than I would like, go to a lecture, wait a bit, go to another lecture, wait, get lunch, and then go home to start my homework. At that point, I’d have lost the details presented in the first lecture. I would complete the homework, turn it in, and a week later receive back graded work. If I had answered questions incorrectly, I had no context for why they were wrong, and I didn’t remember why I answered them that way a week ago. The feedback wasn’t especially useful.

With remote learning, I would watch the lectures and start the homework within the same half-hour. If I submitted incorrect answers, I received feedback immediately. I could then go back to the lecture to see what I had missed and try again until I understood the question. The remote learning homework problems could be more difficult than those in an in-person class because your answers were checked along the way. I didn’t expect the online platform to have harder questions and better feedback, but that was the case.

Can you tell me how the MS-EE on Coursera program fits into your life? 

I am currently a course facilitator for the MS-EE program, on the Coursera platform, and I will continue to be a facilitator in addition to working as a full-time electrical engineer.

My timing for entering the program was ideal. Covid emerged just a few months after I started online. I would have been remote regardless of my initial decision.

What are your favorite parts of the program?

There are many great parts about this program. I facilitate several of the power electronics courses – those are wonderful. 

Ironically, during my undergraduate degree, I never took a power electronics class. I stayed away from them because they didn’t seem interesting to me at the time.

I think my favorite class was the Power Electronics Capstone. As part of that class, I needed to make my power supply stable. My loop had a few different modes it could be in, so I was solving for a solution to multiple problems. But, I did the math, performed the analysis, and when I plugged the values into my simulation the whole system was stable. That was the moment I realized “Wow, I just earned my master’s degree.”

That was my last semester and the last hurdle I needed to get through. Now, I get to guide students through that process, which I really enjoy.

What do you hope to do with your MS-EE degree? 

I hope to get more design work in my career. That was the original motivation for me to join the program.

Would you recommend this program to others? 

I would absolutely recommend the program. You can learn a great deal in a short period of time. You can also start taking classes not-for-credit for a low cost, and then upgrade to take the course for-credit. The overall cost is still significantly less than a traditional master’s program.

There is a high percentage of students who come to my office hours that have other obligations and can’t spend the necessary time to go to campus full-time or part-time. This program is great because you can fit it in where you can.

What’s one tip you have for students who are starting this program?

Don’t procrastinate! The MS-EE program semesters are short, so your next final is never more than eight weeks away. If you’re self-motivated, this is an excellent program.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

It’s nice to be in a position to give back to the community. I have always enjoyed teaching, and I’ve always been good at it. Now, I work as an engineer, and on the side, I help students.

Learn more and apply

Alison Publisher Spotlight Interview – Sharon Bolt

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Alison Publisher Spotlight Interview – Sharon Bolt

A dog is a man’s best friend. These family-friendly four-legged pets are incredible creatures that can reduce stress, play, encourage exercise, and ease feelings of loneliness. But there can be a disconnect with our beloved pets when we, as owners, don’t understand their behaviour and what they’re trying to communicate with us. This month, our Alison publisher spotlight interview is shining on Sharon Bolt. Sharon is a dog behaviour expert and she spoke to us about publishing on Alison, her courses, dog training and more.

Sharon Bolt Background

Please share with our learners a bit about your background.

In 2004 I had a thriving complementary therapy practice. I am a proud co-author of 2 wonderful books called, ‘Successful Women in Business’ and ‘Every Entrepreneurs Guide: Running Your Own Business.’

How did you get into dog training?

My husband and I decided to get two eight-week-old Parson Terriers in 2004, brothers from the same litter. We tried to enrol them into a puppy class, but the trainers all said the same thing to me: “You have taken on real trouble, it’s the worst-case scenario”. 

They explained that because the puppies were blood related, they would look at each other for direction rather than us and would fight for the ‘top dog’ position. This meant that aggression and nasty fights would result and we would very likely need to rehome one of them. 

My mission began to find a natural way of communicating with my two dogs in a way they would really understand and stop the worrisome predictions from coming true.  I studied, went on courses, researched, and most importantly watched the way my two dogs communicated with each other.   

Around that time BBC Radio 2 was looking for a dog trainer to come on their show to talk about unwanted dog behaviours.  Three days later I was on the show speaking to millions of listeners. That interview changed my life overnight. It launched my new dog training career and was the beginning of my journey.

Being An Alison Publisher

You’ve been a self-publisher with Alison for several years. What do you enjoy most about publishing on this platform?

I love that Alison really cares about both their instructors and students. Alison has researched thoroughly into the best ways in which students learn and are committed to publishing only the highest quality courses on their site. As an instructor you know that you are being represented at the highest level. Alison has marketing experts and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) specialists who are dedicated to getting your course/s in front of the people who will benefit from your content. It is a great partnership that they offer for course creators.

What lessons or takeaways have you learned as a self-publisher on Alison?

I’ve learned that it’s important to include all learning modalities when creating a top-class course (written, audio and video). It’s important to create quizzes (with different Q&A formats) to ensure that the student has fully understood what has been taught during the lessons.

How has being a self-publisher on Alison changed or impacted your life?

I feel that being a self-publisher on Alison has made me a better course creator for my courses. Alison is a professional company and I feel that their ethics and high standards rub off on their self-publishers.

What words of advice would you give someone who would like to become an Alison publisher?

Becoming a publisher on Alison is a very thorough process, which is a good thing! There are online courses on Alison that help you with the required format and support articles that explain things step-by-step, plus the support from your account manager is brilliant. It can feel a bit overwhelming initially but is worth it, so go for it!

Published Dog Training Courses on Alison by Sharon Bolt

Please tell our learners about your courses on Alison.

There are so many goodies to choose from!

Who should take your courses?

I have 9 courses on Alison in total which means that the people who would benefit from taking my courses are somewhat varied. My courses are for dog owners, people who have a desire to become a professional dog trainer and for people who already work in the dog industry. My business and marketing course is for people who have (or would like to have) their own dog training business.

For individuals interested in taking one of your courses, what can they expect to get from it?

My dog training courses focus on empowering you, the dog owner. I give you the tools, knowledge and dog training methods that get your dog to listen to you and respond favourably to what you say. I also teach you exactly how to do the dog training methods through step-by-step video demonstrations. This uses the pack leader theory combined with positive reinforcement techniques. The methods I teach are simple, easy, and gentle. They will change a stressed-out dog (and owner) to a happy and well-behaved pooch fast.

What feedback have you received from learners about your course?

It’s so rewarding reading student’s feedback about my courses. Here is some of what people say:  

“Wow! This is a fantastic course – it’s obvious that Sharon knows her stuff and has a great way of explaining what to do in a way that makes sense and is ‘doable’. I love the idea of treating my dog naturally and this course has given me the knowledge to feel confident to do that. A ‘must have’ course for every dog owner – highly recommended!” – Amy Bentley.

“So much wonderful information packed into these courses! Sharon breaks down the information and backs it up with videos in every scenario. I have a beautiful career in front of me working with dogs -Thank you, Sharon!” – Arin Davis

“I loved this course and learned so much, not just in techniques, but in new ways of thinking about dog behaviour. Can’t wait to watch more courses! Highly recommended.” – Chase Night

Why Dog Training Is Important

Why should people be invested in training their dogs?

So many dog owners that we speak to are at their wits end, they don’t know what to do. Often, their dog’s behaviour is going from bad to worse and they don’t know how to stop it.

Dogs are not complicated animals – they just want simple, clear, and concise communication. By the end of my courses, you’ll have the dog training knowledge and confidence you need to make a positive difference to both yours and your dog’s lives. You’ll also know how you can become your dog’s pack leader without shouting, hitting, or using force.

What misconceptions, if any, do people have about dog training and how would taking your courses help with this?

The biggest problem I see is dog owners trying to ‘humanise’ their dogs. Dogs are animals and speak a different language, which is through non-verbal communication and body language. They also have different needs and expectations than humans and when misunderstood they display a host of stressed, hyperactive, and undesirable behaviours. That’s why I empower and educate dog owners on how to give the right communication to dogs and how to ‘speak dog’, when you get this right stressed out dogs become happy and well-balanced pooches.

Becoming A Dog Trainer

What set of skills should one acquire if they want to go into dog training?

Building knowledge and confidence through online courses that have video demonstrations and written documents is a great way of gaining dog training skills. For people who’d like to become professional dog trainers they will need to know how to resolve many unwanted dog behaviours.

  • Know how to run a professional business
  • Marketing skills
  • Learn how to create transformational packages for clients
  • Hands-on experience is also vital for building confidence. I recommend volunteering at rescue centers and dog pounds and ‘practicing’ the skills learned online on your own dog/s plus friends and family dogs.

What career paths are available for individuals interested in dog training?

Becoming a professional dog trainer is a popular career path for people who are interested in dog training. We also find that people who already have a dog related business, such as dog walkers, dog groomers, pet sitters. They often want to add ‘professional dog trainer’ to their services and regularly enrol in my courses.  

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love hearing about (or watching) stressed out dogs become calm, happy, and well-balanced pooches once their owners apply the methods that I teach. Seeing how the dog owner’s confidence grows, how their self-belief soars and how empowered they feel makes me happy.

I enjoy helping people to become professional dog trainers so that they can make a difference in the world and pay their bills at the same time. I take pleasure in teaching people how to use natural remedies to heal their dog’s ailments. They can use this knowledge to feed their dog a raw, natural diet that gives them optimum health, body weight and longevity. In a nutshell, I love EVERYTHING about my job!

What The Future Holds For Sharon Bolt

What else can Alison and its learners look forward to from you in the coming year to two?

There are no plans at this time for additional courses, but you’ll be the first to know as and when that changes.

Any last words, advice, or wisdom you’d like to share with our learners?

Dog training takes time, consistency, and dedication. There’s nothing better and more rewarding in life than the strong bond and unconditional love shared between an owner and their dog. I highly recommend that you invest in either online dog training courses or local professional dog trainers (or both). With these, you will get the knowledge and methods that will give you a happy, well balanced, and well-behaved dog – both you and your dog will be pleased that you did!

Keep up to date with our blogs for another Alison publisher spotlight interview coming soon.

 

What Does an AWS Developer Do?

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What Does an AWS Developer Do?

Amazon has come a long way from just selling books — and not just because it’s become a one-stop shop for everything from toilet paper to grocery deliveries. Thanks to businesses shifting operations and infrastructure to the cloud, systems and applications that used to run right down the hall in a server room are now hosted in a remote data center. One of these cloud providers is Amazon Web Services (AWS). As with all digital solutions, you need people to work with, manage, and improve them, which is where AWS developers come into play.

Read on to learn what an AWS developer does, the skills you need to become one, the salary you can expect to earn, and how you can get closer to your AWS professional goals by learning to code.

What does an AWS developer do?

An AWS developer designs, maintains, and manages the cloud-based infrastructure used to run web applications in AWS’s cloud. Beyond Amazon itself, plenty of companies employ AWS developers, from agencies like Deloitte to software solution companies or production studios that require in-house help for their operations. And since AWS is used by such a diverse set of industries (from entertainment and advertising to hospitality), it’s a career path that comes with many job opportunities despite where your interests lie.

That being said,  the job involves a lot of specific skills, some of which are unique to the AWS platform. You’ll need to know programming languages like Java, Python, and C#, as well as other day-to-day skills.

Work with microservices

Microservices are elements of applications that the overall app uses to function. They can be assigned to different elements of the app, making it easier to add features and make changes to several elements simultaneously.

For example, suppose you have an app hosted on AWS that runs an online hardware store’s order fulfillment system. The app’s overall function can be divided into microservices that take care of the smaller elements that the app needs. These may include a database with user information, another database with pricing info for different items the store sells, and another one that connects to Internet of Things (IoT) devices that keep track of inventory. These microservices come with a low cost of failure that makes it easier to experiment and update code to try out new ideas within an app.

As an AWS developer, you have to know how to work with these microservices and how to deploy them within the AWS platform to create business solutions.

Set up monitoring systems

In an ideal world, an app functions as it should all the time, but in reality, errors happen. That’s where monitoring comes in: to alert you when a problem arises, figure out what happened, and flag the systems it may have impacted. Monitoring also helps you perform root cause analysis (RCA), so you can pinpoint the system that caused the issue and fix it.

If you can set up a reliable monitoring system, you will also be able to reduce the number and variety of cyberattacks. Monitoring helps an AWS developer spot breaches and other cyberattacks quickly, enabling admins to take action.

Migrate infrastructure

Infrastructure migration has gotten more and more popular as an increasing number of businesses have decided to move their systems to the cloud. Because AWS has so many tools, some businesses may want to hire you to migrate their existing infrastructure to AWS. Understanding the principles and practices that drive successful migration will be key to your skillset.

Skills you need to be an AWS developer

An AWS developer needs several skills to succeed, including:

  • Experience working with core AWS features and services
  • Experience with cloud-based monitoring solutions
  • A solid understanding of cloud security tools
  • Experience with maintaining or building applications in the cloud

It’ll also help if you have earned the AWS developer certification. This shows employers that you’re familiar with the platform and how it can be leveraged to solve business problems.

But remember: It’s not just about technical skills. Soft skills are important, too. These are skills like:

  • Presenting your ideas and accomplishments using a variety of formats, such as PowerPoint and online presentation tools
  • Communicating effectively, both verbally and in writing
  • Listening carefully and understanding the challenges and pain points for your team or your customers

AWS developer salary

As an AWS developer, you can expect to make around $125,000 a year on average, though your salary will vary based on where your job is, your experience level, and the individual company. For example, an AWS developer based in California makes an average of $140,000, while someone in Wisconsin with the same position makes an average of $135,000.

Your job title makes a significant difference as well. For instance, a senior AWS Full Stack Developer in Charleston, South Carolina, can earn as much as $115,000. At the same time, a Java AWS Microservices Developer in Wayne, New Jersey, can make $130,000 per year.

How to become an AWS developer

To become an AWS developer, you need to start with a foundation in building applications. Despite the variety of tasks an AWS developer may be called on to perform, development lies at the heart of it all, specifically because you’ll be designing or managing software solutions.

Totally new to the field? Our courses and Career Paths are a great place to start, particularly our Front-End Engineer, Back-End Engineer, and Full-Stack Engineer career paths. These courses will give you the foundational knowledge you need to become comfortable designing and working on digital solutions. Courses like these will also make it easier to earn an AWS certification.

If you already have foundational knowledge of coding, you can also get more specific with a course like Deploying with Netlify and Heroku. For example, an organization may purchase a license to a solution like Netlify because it runs on AWS. If you’re comfortable with this and other solutions using AWS, you can be a more attractive prospect to companies that use them.

Looking for more? Our catalog can help you find the course you need to perfect your coding skills. But if you’re still not sure where to start, check out our coding personality quiz, which can help you figure out which programming languages to learn and which courses to take based on your interests.

8 Ways to Boost Blog Traffic Using Your Old Posts

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8 Ways to Boost Blog Traffic Using Your Old Posts

8 Ways to Update Old Blog Posts to Boost Blog Traffic

A quick way to boost blog traffic is by refreshing old blog posts by improving the content and updating any outdated information. Other than having outstanding original content, blog traffic is heavily influenced by smart SEO strategies. Use the SEO knowledge you’ve gained since starting your blog to improve your old posts so they’ll draw better traffic to your blog.

How to Boost Blog Traffic

Below are eight easy tips to boost your blog traffic by updating your existing blog content.

1. Expand + Update Your Content

Add new information to old posts to make them longer, more informative, and rank higher in search engines. Google will rank blog posts with lengthy content higher than short posts.

Remove and replace any outdated information with more up-to-date information to make the post more relevant and useful to your present and future blog readers. If there is a site or resource no longer working or available, find alternative suggestions for your blog readers.

Be creative in the useful information you add. Add personal experiences you’ve gained or add interesting statistics, graphs, or new breakthrough findings on the topic to increase the value and longevity of your post.

2. Fix Broken Links

Search engines will penalize blogs with too many broken links. One or two is fine but if most of your old posts have broken links, replace or remove the links if they lead to sites that are no longer online or lead to 404 error pages.

There are several link checker sites online you can use for both Blogger and WordPress blogs to check for broken links.

3. Update Your Images

Update old popular blog posts with new images. If you’ve been blogging for years your blog brand has changed since you first published your old blog posts. Update your images to match your current brand. If the blog post had no images, add a featured image.

To encourage pinning your post, add new vertical Pinterest-friendly images. Data from Pinterest shows vertical images have a higher repinning rate on Pinterest than square or horizontal images. After updating old posts with new images, repin your blog posts to your Pinterest page to share the new pin image.

If you use a completely new image, consider sharing the post on your social media to get fresh new eyes on the post.

RELATED POST: The 4 Best Places to Find Free Photos for Your Blog

4. Improve Your SEO

Fix up old blog posts with the new SEO techniques you’ve learned since publishing the post. Use a plugin such as Yoast to know how to add keywords optimally and to help your post rank higher in search engines. Use specific and relevant keywords and add meta descriptions.

Search engines can’t see images so each image on your blog post should have an alt tag to allow search engines to see it as a part of your blog post.

5. Rename Posts with SEO-Friendly Titles

Replace any blog titles that have vague or confusing blog titles with straightforward SEO-friendly titles that use keywords.

A clear title will increase your blog traffic. In search engines, your blog title is the first thing a potential blog reader will read. A clear title will lead to higher click-throughs as someone searching for information will choose the blog with the clearer title.

RELATED POST: 6 Tips for Writing Attention Grabbing Post Titles

6. Add Related Posts

Update old posts by linking to newer related posts you’ve created since starting your blog. Use internal and external linking to keep your readers on your blog longer and provide them with more relevant information and to improve your blog SEO.

7. Make Your Text Easier to Read

Make your blog posts easier to read by using an easy-to-read font and font size, breaking up your paragraphs into sections, and using headings for each section.

Organize your blog post in a way that follows the essay writing lessons you learned in school. Start with an introduction, include a body, and end with a conclusion or a call to action. A linear presentation will improve the readability of your blog post.

If you used a custom font size or funky fonts for your posts in the past, replace them with easier to read large font sizes and standard fonts such as a font you would see in a book or newspaper.

RELATED POST: 12 Tips for Making Your Blog Easier to Read

8. Update Old Posts + Republish

Update your old blog posts from when you first started your blog and republish them with new dates. The blog readers you’ve gained since starting your blog will appreciate seeing the new information and your current blog readers will appreciate the refresh.

If you have a technique you use to boost blog traffic, share your suggestions for how you update your old blog posts below.

Summer Reading Contest Winner Week 3: On ‘Sure, Just Have the Baby’

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Summer Reading Contest Winner Week 3: On ‘Sure, Just Have the Baby’

Olivia Wasmund chose an article from the Opinion section headlined “Sure, Just Have the Baby” and wrote:

In Pamela Paul’s article, “Sure, Just Have the Baby,” she recounts the difficulties she experienced as a pregnant mother in America, where delivering a baby is 14 times riskier than having an abortion.

There’s a lot I don’t know about the circumstances of my birth. But I do know that I was an unwanted pregnancy. That my 27-year-old birth mother never sought prenatal care — even though it would have been free for her. That she gave birth to me unassisted in a bathroom at home.

But I was lucky. I was adopted by a loving family at five months old.

In Taiwan, my birthplace, abortion has been legal up to 24 weeks gestation since 1985. Procedures happen in doctors’ offices or private clinics. There are no harassing protesters. No stigma.

The article mentions Judge Alito’s comments in the leaked Dobbs draft opinion about the security pregnant women have today knowing that their babies will “find a suitable home” if they choose adoption over abortion. But by most accounts, there are already over 117,000 children available for adoption in government-supported foster homes. Are these the “suitable homes” that Judge Alito has in mind?

I was lucky to be adopted, but Judge Alito is wrong. Adoption is no band-aid for the gaping wound that the absence of Roe’s protection leaves.

Upon my adoption I became a U.S. citizen, where I now have less rights than in my birth land. Every person should have bodily autonomy, no matter their nationality.

I am adopted — and I am pro-choice.

In alphabetical order by the writer’s first name.

Interview with PeakSpan Capital, A Growth Equity Firm

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Interview with PeakSpan Capital, A Growth Equity Firm

Many are unaware that one of the biggest roles in this industry, are those played by Private Equity (including Growth Equity) and VC (Venture Capital) firms. From the learning system and learning technology standpoint (and yes, I see a difference) the PE or VC firm is the one to go to when you seek capital or seek to be acquired. They are the ones that many vendors still today, hear from, to gauge whether or not said vendor is interested in being acquired or receiving funding.

In the learning system and learning technology space, the Growth Equity firms lead the pack due to the number of early-stage companies who have the high growth potential. However, recent buys such as Cornerstone for example, came from a PE firm. Another big-time player in the learning technology/system space is Vista Equity, a PE, who at one-time in the 2009-time frame owned SumTotal. In 2021, they invested in Schoox.

PeakSpan Capital, is a Growth Equity firm. Their recent investments in our industry include Bongo Learn.

I spoke with Sanket Merchant, Principal, of PeakSpan Capital.

Q: Refers to the question, it will be bolded in Green. A: Refers to the response from PeakSpan Capital, it will be italicized.

Q: Consumers may not be aware of certain terminology and then, if they go and look it up, sometimes the explanations are even more confusing. For the non-financial person, what does a Private Equity firm, VC and Growth Equity firms do?

A: It’s a great question and certainly has grown in complexity. If we take a step back, the landscape for “private capital” investors is fairly broad with categories such as Venture Capital, Growth Equity (i.e., PeakSpan Capital), and Private Equity. The simplest distinction between each group is (i) the perceived risk (and type of risk) being assumed by each investor type, (ii) maturity of the business being invested in (oftentimes measured by revenue and growth), and (iii) returns target and how the investor typically generates a return.

Venture Capital firms are typically taking on more risk, writing smaller equity checks, and have greater returns expectations to compensate them for the risk of investing in an earlier stage business (smaller in terms of revenue scale but showcasing hyper-growth).

Growth equity investors like PeakSpan Capital stay on hymnal with our name – we’re typically investing after strong evidence of product-market fit and investing in growth. While risk is never zero; growth equity investors are typically taking on less product/technology and/or market risk and instead taking on more execution risk, particularly around go-to-market.

Returns expectations are slightly lower (likely 3-4x their invested capital) given risk of losing money on investments is innately lower as companies mature. Lastly, private equity investors are writing the biggest equity investments (tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars) and often will use some level of debt capital, particularly if it is an investment where the PE firm is seeking to purchase “control” or more than 50% ownership of the business after the investment.

Private equity firms are presumably taking on the least amount of “risk” given maturity of the underlying businesses. Like growth equity investors, they’re actively engaged and will typically bring in large operations teams to assist portfolio companies in accelerating growth, driving operational efficiencies, complete strategic tuck-in acquisitions (or M&A of smaller businesses) as a complement to organic growth programs, etc.

Q: I find that potential buyers of learning systems see that a vendor has raised X capital, and thus perceive that the system must be making a lot of sales, and be a great system – i.e. elite.  However, that isn’t the case all the time is it?

A: You’re absolutely right – certainly not the case every time! The advantage of being a private company is that you do not need to publicly disclose your financial performance; however, there are a few things you can do to build a directional sense of how large a vendor is or how well they’re doing. First, I would look at their LinkedIn headcount, and, in particular, sales headcount to build a directional sense for the size or scale of a vendor (i.e., assume a $ of revenue per FTE to estimate directional size and revenue scale).

Second, I’ll caveat that I haven’t seen the most recent research but several analyses we’ve seen in the past that looked at how much equity capital had been raised to generate a company’s current revenue scale. For most Silicon Valley companies that number for at least $4 (or more).

What that means is that companies had to raise $40M of equity investment to reach $10M in ARR or annual recurring revenue. I’ll caveat that the number likely has changed and, importantly, every company is different in terms of how efficient they’ve been with any equity capital they’ve raised, so challenging to paint with a broad brush.

For example, Calendly (leading provider of scheduling software) raised < $500K to reach $100M+ in ARR before whereas other companies may have raised $400M to reach the same revenue scale. Keep in mind just because someone has raised lots of $$$ doesn’t mean they’ve been anywhere near as efficient in deploying that capital as you may have been!

Q: When a vendor seeks to raise capital, in your experience, what are they focusing on (area or areas)?  And from your perspective, what do you look at, key indicators or variables to determine if that vendor (in this type of scenario) is a good candidate for receiving capital from you?

A:

Vendors are likely looking at some combination of the following: (i) resource to accelerate growth, (ii) change in ownership in the business (founder or early investor requires or wants liquidity), (iii) access to network and operational resources, and, most importantly, (iv) want help scaling their business to the next level because an entrepreneur (or team) may not have the direct experience with the next few stages of growth/evolution in the business so critical to have an experienced investment partner in your corner.

From an investor’s perspective, it’s fairly simple – investors are looking for “alpha” or opportunities where there is high conviction in generating a return on invested capital.

That requires two things to come together nicely – (i) perception of a high performing business and (ii) attractively structured investment (valuation, terms, etc.). There are certainly some great businesses out there but given valuation expectations may not be great investments given performance required to generate an attractive return.

Let’s double-click on the above.

Investors are looking for businesses that are (i) showing product and delivery leadership in a large and strategic segment of the market (i.e., LMS for SMBs, Sales Enablement, Customer Training or Extended Enterprise), (ii) scarcity value or competitive advantage that can extend well beyond underlying technology, (iii) attractive financial profile (revenue scale relative to capital raised to date, strong accelerating growth, capital efficiency, etc.), (iv) attractive unit economic performance (i.e., retention (gross- and net-dollar / logo), acquisition efficiency, etc.), (v) strong leadership team led by a visionary founder/CEO, and (vi) clear evidence of opportunities to drive value in the business (accelerated growth, operational efficiency, etc.).

Q: Let’s follow up on more question around this above inquiry. Do you ask if you are the only vendor that vendor is seeking capital from?  What is the typical approach when it comes to multiple PEs or investment firms or individual investor(s), when the vendor is accepting multiple funding partners?  Is the majority based solely on total investment at that time, or over a period of time?

A: Despite the challenge of the current market environment, we’ve been living in a world of what I call a “supply-demand imbalance.” What I mean by that is there is considerably more capital available from a broader constituency of investment firms (i.e., demand) then businesses that are a great candidate for that growth capital (i.e., supply). As a result, it’s my view that any investor that thinks they’re the only firm that a vendor is speaking with is being naive! I suspect any high performing business I’m speaking with about a prospective partnership is likely talking to multiple firms.

Like selling your home, if you’re hoping to maximize the outcome (price, terms, etc.) then you want to have a competitive process, which means engaging multiple firms that you admire and believe could be exceptional partners to the business participate in a structured process where they’re getting access to information and following a consistent timeline.

It’s my job as a prospective partner to differentiate myself and the “product” we’re offering as a prospective partner from our peers that extends well beyond the capital we’re providing, which in my view has commoditized given the plethora of sources that have emerged over the years.  

Q: Is there a typical percentage or requirements that a PE, Growth Equity or VC will ask for if they offer to provide capital to a vendor (supplier)?  In other words, let’s say you want to provide Vendor X with 5M, what is the usual percentage (that you find or aware of)?  Does any capital infusion come with a requirement of at least one board seat? (Assuming it is a private company – which in our industry – is the overwhelmingly majority)

A: That is really only applicable at the earlier investment stages (i.e., Seed) and less so at later stages of investing where valuations are governed by a value placed on a dollar of revenue (often the case because SaaS businesses that are growing quickly are incurring losses or not profitable) or dollar of EBITDA. It’s common that most lead investors will ask for a board seat given they’re a minority investor and don’t control the business. Some investors require it while others may request it.

In most cases, the founders’ control of the Board of Directors and, while biased, I think having your lead investor hold a board seat can be additive (especially with the right investor) as they can offer a complementary perspective based on prior experiences and be helpful in thinking through a variety of strategic topics to the business.

Q: Let’s say you decided to acquire a learning system vendor or a vendor in the e-learning space (could be a publisher), are the variables or parameters different than say, providing capital to the vendor (not an acquisition)?

A: It doesn’t change much from the eyes of an investor and largely a function of strategic objectives from existing stakeholders in the business. However, where it can differ is it is considered a “strategic acquisition” where either it is an independent (or publicly traded) software company or a portfolio company of a private equity investor who is looking at you [the target] as a bolt-on acquisition. In that case, I would say quality of product/technology and strategic fit within the acquirers existing portfolio (i.e., does it fill a strategic product gap or provide access to a new market/buyer) and synergies (i.e., cross-sell opportunities, added revenue scale, additional profitability, etc.) elevate in importance.

Q: I am going to pose a scenario to you, that I see often in our industry.

In the last five years, there are a lot of firms out there trying to acquire learning system vendors, and off-the-shelf publishers of courses to a lesser degree.  It has only increased, and there are way too many vendors who think “they are the only ones” receiving these inquiries.

 What would you tell a vendor if they receive one inquiry or multiple inquiries from investment banks/firms, PEs, individual investor(s)?   How can they tell legit from snooping around?

A: First, I would meet with your existing stakeholders (or board) to discuss that interest and discuss key strategic objectives for your business today and going forward. Do you have interest in raising capital to accelerate growth? Have any existing stakeholders expressed interest in selling some or all of their equity? Do you want to explore a strategic sale of the business either to a PE firm or strategic to realize a full exit? I think it is important that businesses are developing relationships with investors that they think could be excellent partners at some point in the business as it does offer downstream benefits and building relationships with vendors that could ultimately acquire the business.

What you’re raising is a reasonable concern and would recommend folks consult with their boards to remain organized, consult with their lawyers to ensure they have appropriate confidentiality agreements in place if you’re sharing information openly (including non-solicit provisions if with a strategic acquirer), and most importantly, openly discussing “intent” to ensure those conversations are productive, aligned, and a good use of time.

Q: And if they are interested in pursuing further, what do they need to do on their side?

A: A well-structured process is the key to success, which can be either managed internally or outsourced to an investment bank that can assist with providing access to investors/acquirers, create marketing materials (including financial analyses, models, etc.), and assist with process management (which can become a full-time job on its own in addition to managing the business). I believe being able to complement that interest with other relevant investors/acquirers is key to driving the best outcome! If you’re unable to do that then I would ensure you’re consulting with your existing stakeholders and legal team to ensure you’re being presented with a deal that you believe is attractive absent competing offers!

Q: I tend to see that vendors who move forward with being acquired always seem stunned at how long it takes, and what is all involved.  Can you provide a timeframe (in general and no, I am not holding it to you), of the process, what is involved in the process, who must be involved in the process and so forth? (Let’s assume it is a private company, and not public).

A: I would conservatively estimate 6-12-months to complete an acquisition. It can certainly be faster but unlikely to be less than 3-months in a best-case scenario!

Last question

Q: I’m a learning system or learning technology vendor and I want to raise capital.  What should I do? Let’s say, I really don’t know who to reach out to, although I asked around and received a couple of names.  Should I solely rely on that, or should I do my own due diligence, and if yes on the latter, where and how?

A: I would initially reach out to existing investors to get recommendations on firms that you should engage with as they’ll likely have a perspective on firms they admire that could be a great fit given sector, scale, stage, profile, etc. If not, I would get access to sources like Crunchbase or PitchBook to see if you can find investors that have been active in the L&D category (or exited prior LMS investments) where your current round and stage are a perfect fit with their strategy.

Upfront research on the narrowing on investor outreach that would be an ideal fit for your round will be incredibly valuable to ensuring you’re being efficient with your time, engaging with groups that you believe will be additive to your business, and those that will immediately appreciate what you’ve accomplished and share your vision for the market opportunity ahead of the business.

I would certainly conduct your own research and no harm in taking a look at their existing (or exited investments) and reaching out to a few entrepreneurs to get an off-list reference on the firm. If you like what you’re hearing/seeing, then I find a warm introduction (like with anything in life) is best – identify the partner that brings the relevant domain expertise and see if you can find a mutual connection to provide an introduction. Best of luck!

Huge thank you to Sanket Merchant from PeakSpan Capital.

About PeakSpan Capital

PeakSpan Capital is a growth equity firm based in New York City and San Mateo. Having partnered with over 30 high-growth software businesses and with $1.5B+ in AUM, PeakSpan’s mission is to be the partner of choice for growth stage entrepreneurial teams who are building amazing software targeted at business buyers of all sizes. PeakSpan combines deep domain expertise within a select number of themes with a homegrown, proprietary technology platform providing visibility into company and market performance, to help disruptive entrepreneurs drive resilient, risk-adjusted value creation. PeakSpan has been actively investing in Human Capital Management, HR Technology, Learning & Development, and Education Technology broadly for decades with representative investments (prior and current) including HireVue, Plateau Systems (acq. by SAP SuccessFactors), Epignosis, Fuel50, Kudoboard, Rallyware, Bongo, and more.

To learn more about PeakSpan Capital and its portfolio, please visit: www.peakspancapital.com.

Social Media Etiquette: Do’s and Don’ts For Business

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Social Media Etiquette: Do’s and Don’ts For Business

There is no escaping social media. There are over 150 active social media sites and over 3-billion people who use social media daily. Whether you’re an avid user of the plethora of applications available or just “don’t get it”, social media is here to stay. The hundreds of social media apps available mean there is a variety of apps to appeal to every taste, preference, industry, style and so much more. What started out as platforms for personal use has evolved into millions of companies relying on social media as a digital marketing tool. Like many things, there are rules on how to use and navigate apps. We’re breaking down social media etiquette and looking at the unspoken social media rules for business.

What Is Social Media?

“Social media” is the collective term used to speak about interactive technologies that drive communication, the sharing of information, ideas, common interests, thoughts, and expression across and through virtual networks. These platforms allow users to create web content and share it with others.

Types Of Social Media Platforms

There are many types of social media like blogs, instant messaging platforms, social networking sites, podcasts, photo-based sharing platforms, video sharing sites and so much more. Often, when you think of social media, the first thought is the social networking sites, but there are more types, each serving a specific function.

Social Media Networks

LinkedIn (primarily for business), Facebook, Twitter, are some of the more popular sites. These all encourage connections, sharing thoughts, ideas, and knowledge with friends, family, and acquaintances. You can create groups within these, have discussions, market your business and through advertising, allow businesses to enlarge their audience reach and discover key metrics through research that allows you to know your customers and cater to their needs.

Discussion Forums

You can have a conversation anywhere, but forums like Reddit and Quora service a different niche of communication. These discussion sites spark conversations where people can ask questions and attract people with like-minded curiosities within their sub-communities. For a business owner, you can set yourself up as an industry thought-leader by answering questions and use this to drive that audience to your business website.

 Consumer Reviews

Sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, HelloPeter are examples of consumer review sites. These allow potential customers to review the experiences of other customers and let them know if that product, place, or service is worth the buy. Businesses can use these to track their customer sentiment, solve problems and improve customer experiences.

Media Sharing Networks

Ever heard the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words”? Snapchat and Instagram are popular examples of these image sharing platforms. Businesses curate content that will attract audiences and customers and use this to sell your product. Through these, businesses can grow their audience organically using inspired content and engage their users, be it with the lifestyle, product offerings or other services shared on the page.

Video Hosting Sites

YouTube has changed the way we think about and consume video content. Where previously, video was limited to skilled professionals, today, anyone can become a ‘YouTuber’. Vimeo is another example of a video hosting site and businesses can optimise these to stream phenomenal business content in a way that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg like you would pay in television advertising.

This list is by no means exhaustive as there are also blogs, bookmarking sites (Pinterest), new platforms like TikTok that businesses are optimising, and sharing economy sites like AirBnB that allow you to share and grow your business.

It’s easy to get lost in the world of social media and try to have accounts for each one. However, this is not always practical, necessary, or beneficial for your business. As a business owner, you need to know which platforms are best suited for your business and will help you achieve your social media marketing strategy goals and objectives.

Without a clear strategy, you can get caught up in the virtual world and end up performing cardinal sins which can be detrimental to your digital reputation.

What Is Social Media Etiquette?

Social media etiquette refers to the set of guidelines that individuals and organisations adhere to maintain their online reputation. In the same way there are rules about which fork to use for dinner, social media etiquette has rules about which platform to use and the best way to do so. This speaks to the often-unspoken set of rulers that govern online behaviour, that is, how we say and do to remain respectful and respectful with fellow users. Being on your best behaviour as a business is as important as maintaining personal etiquette on social media.

Social Media For Business

Should your business be on social media? What should you post, or not post? When should you post it? When should I like, share, or retweet a post? Which platform is best for my business?

Government institutions and businesses, social media plays a key role in communication and keeping their audiences informed about what they’re doing, how they’re doing it and when. Social media allows businesses to achieve four key goals:

  • Brings new customers to your business
  • Helps you discover new ideas and trends that can grow your business
  • Connects you with your existing customers in more meaningful ways
  • Enhances your brand 

Social Media Etiquette Business Do’s And Don’ts

Whatever you post on the internet will live forever – even if you delete it. In a split second, someone will have seen and “screen grabbed” what was shared and will, despite your best intentions, go on to share that with the rest of the world. If it was negative, it could have a disastrous effect on your business. Therefore, knowing and following social media etiquette will be your company’s saving grace.

Do’s

  • Separate your personal and business accounts. You don’t want to accidentally share memes on your business account that should be from your personal page.
  • Fact check. Before posting, be sure of the facts. You don’t want to go viral for sharing fake news as a reputable business.
  • Create content suitable for each platform. Research, know and understand which platforms are best fit for your business and tailor all your content for the specific platform and audience. Also learn content management strategies that will help align your business to the platform.
  • Have a human touch. There are several social media management tools to help business plan calendars, manage work flows and conversations, measure ROI and get user insights. It’s created to automate some posts, but always leave room for the human touch and live responses and engagements.
  • Have a social media guide and policy. This empowers your employees in knowing what to share, online safety, being your business representative, compliance, and best practices for each platform.

Don’ts

  • Don’t engage with trolls. These users live to get reactions and a rise out of others. Don’t take the bait and get drawn into a twar (Twitter war).
  • Don’t overshare. Too many shares and updates will clog your audience’s timeline. If what you share is irrelevant to your business, you run the risk of losing customers and followers.
  • Don’t “overpromote”. Find a healthy balance between organic posts and paid posts across all your platforms.
  • Don’t complain, be negative or abuse hashtags (#). These online behaviours won’t endear your audience to further engage with your account or your business. Instead, adopt a positive response and reactions to criticism, post positive news and content and be moderate in your hashtag use.

These are just some of the practices to adopt to ensure you post on the right side of the constantly changing social media landscape.

If the past 10 years is anything to go by, we can be certain that the social media landscape and how we communicate with each other will continue to evolve. You need to keep up with the transformation and adopt social media etiquette practices for your business. Remember, just because you can say it, it doesn’t mean you should. 

 

RESILIENCE

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RESILIENCE

Labor employers place a high value on the ability to work under duress. When you go for an interview, the interviewer will ask you questions like, “What is/are your motivation(s) while working?” Have you ever felt so stressed out at your previous job that you wanted to quit, and what did you do when that happened? Are you able to work under intense stress? Their goal is to determine how resilient such a person will be on the job, particularly when faced with a particularly difficult situation at work.

Every employer seeks employees who are dedicated and capable of adapting to changes and difficult times while remaining focused on the goal.

 

“Resilience is a term used in psychology to describe the capacity of people to cope with stress and catastrophe. It is also used to indicate a characteristic of resistance to future negative events. This psychological meaning of resilience is often contrasted with “risk factors” – Wikipedia

 

There are various life challenges that can cause pressure, so pressure can come from home, work, or anywhere; living life comes with different pressures from different experiences and events. While some people succumb to such stress, others are able to persevere and learn from the unpleasant experience in order to improve. These are the people who are said to be resilient.

 

From individual to a group, there are four types of resilience;

 

  1. Physical Resilience – This type of resilience refers to how the body recovers from physical stress and health problems such as illness, accident, age-related sickness and diseases, and so on. This type of resilience can be developed and enhanced by changing one’s lifestyle, getting regular medical checkups, having a strong will, and remaining positive.
  2. Emotional Resilience – Some people are able to control their emotions in the face of stress and negative situations because they understand that these situations are temporary and will pass with time. Such people have emotional resilience; they draw strength from within and can control emotions like anger and other negative reactions that may arise as a result of a stressful situation.
  3. Mental Resilience – This is the ability to be adaptable and remain calm in the face of change and uncertainty. Change and uncertainty are always negative for the brain, but some people can easily adapt to change and uncertainty; these people have mental resilience.
  4. Social Resilience – This is also known as community resilience because it involves more than one person’s ability; it is the ability of a group of people to overcome a common negative situation. These people draw strength from one another, especially during times of crisis, such as cyclones, earthquakes, insecurity, or other natural disasters. These people come together after a negative incident to support one another, live through the situation, and offer long-term solutions to prevent a repeat of the situation, as the case may be.

 

Resilient people have some distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from the crowd. These distinguishing characteristics include:

 

–      The ability to see themselves as survivors; they believe that nothing lasts forever and that every situation has an expiration date if one can hold on and not give up.

–      Willingness to accept help and support from others. They are not afraid or embarrassed to seek assistance or support when necessary.

–      Resilient people understand that they should not be too hard on themselves if they have to go through a difficult situation and come out on top.

–      Resilient people do not show their emotions on their faces; they do not let fear or worry show on their faces because they know the situation will pass quickly.

–      Resilient people are not afraid of problems; rather, they seek solutions to them when they arise.

 

While resilience is not necessarily inborn in some people, some have greater resilience than others, which may be due to upbringing, genetics, support from family and friends, past experiences, environmental influence, physical fitness, and so on.

 

The more stressful situations you successfully overcome, the better and more prepared you will be to face future challenges and stressful situations. This is how resilience is built.

 

Mariah Carey, one of my all-time favorite musicians, may have been referring to resilience when she sang a song called Hero, stating that the hero lies within you if you can search within your heart.

 

“And then a hero comes along

With the strength to carry on

And you cast your fears aside

And you know you can survive

So when you feel like hope is gone

Look inside you and be strong

And you’ll finally see the truth

That a hero lies in you”

-Mariah Carey

 

 

 

Sources 

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-resilience-2795059

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