Alex Lickerman, a Lab parent and a primary care doctor at ImagineMD, spoke to students about the importance of growing resilience and shared his four methods students can take to develop inner strength at the Wellness Assembly Feb. 29.
Dr. Lickerman was also a leader at the University of Chicago Medical Center and published “The Undefeated Mind: On the Science of Constructing an Indestructible Self,” a book which combines his interests in Buddhism and its relationship with resilience.
He kicked off the assembly telling students how his background in the religion and as a primary care doctor shaped his thoughts.
“How is it possible to become happy in this world and in life when life is destined to send you so many terrible things and cause so much suffering?” he asked. “One of the fundamental answers that Buddhism gives to that question is that part of being happy is being strong and learning how to develop inner strength.”
Through his talk, Dr. Lickerman introduced the students to four key steps designed to enhance resilience: expecting obstacles, adopting an optimistic explanatory style, accepting pain, and finding meaning in loss. All four steps were all backed by scientific studies and incidents in his career.
The assembly concluded with Dr. Lickerman encouraging the students to apply these strategies in their daily lives.
He said, “I will challenge you all to remember what I’ve said that you can actually do these exercises yourself when these things happen to you. If you try it, you will find that they will make you more resilient.”
