“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”
― Albert Camus
This quote stopped me in my tracks. How amazing would it be to feel that you couldn’t be broken? That whatever happened to you, you would always bounce back? I wonder – do we all have that ability?
Why I chose this author quote
Believing the thing we need to get through difficult times is already inside us, is a powerful thought. If you can believe this of yourself, it is probably true. But how do we convince ourselves that we can get through whatever life throws at us? How can we find our personal invincible summer?
I think the key is in the word ‘personal’. What works for one person may not work for another. But everyone has skills, and the ability to develop more.
What this author quote means to me
We all have different strengths. If we can identify what helps us cope in different situations, we can use those skills to our advantage.
Some of us comfort ourselves with happy memories. Or look back on challenging times and remember how we used our strengths to deal with those problems. Our memories often show us we are stronger than we currently feel.
Some of us make plans to look forward to. So what’s happening now can be viewed in the context of a longer timeframe. Some of us just have faith that happier times will come back, like summer does, every year.
Some of us are able to see both the bad things, and all the good things in our lives, simultaneously. To feel gratitude for what’s going well, even though other things are going badly. I keep a gratitude journal because sometimes I need a reminder to focus on the positives.
I’m a planner. When things around me are not going well, having something to look forward to helps me deal with the here and now. I might not be able to do exactly what I want but I can plan something else instead. I guess that’s my version of an invincible summer. Have you found yours?
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Deborah Grant-Dudley 
I love this quote every time I read it. For me, that inside is a stillness. I don’t find it every time I seek it. But when I do, it can be calming. I have the space to consider how struggles help to shape me. That if everything was easy, would I have been able to develop inner strength? And to try to prioritize things on my to-do list, rather than be overwhelmed by the list.
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That’s wonderful. I love this approach!
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