How to build resilience through Blue Zones

Explore the profound concept of resilience and its transformative impact on overcoming adversity and thriving in the face of life's challenges.

Transcript

00:00

For the first time in our lifetime, the world is united by a shared experience. [INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]

00:06

When I think about resiliency, I think about people that have grit and can get through tough times and certainly bear down and get

00:15

the work done, and no matter what comes at a community. Our small businesses were definitely impacted.

00:21

This is more of a tourist town. So with quarantine and no one being able to travel, it really hit our small businesses hard.

00:28

We were able to be resilient. Because we were able to survive and figure a way out so

00:35

that we can continue to help the community, help our family, help our employees. Monterey County is resilient.

00:44

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation is very resilient. Brevard is resilient. When COVID hit, the community of Brevard

00:52

really showed their resilience. Several organizations were able to change their services in one day to be able to let people just drive up

01:00

and get food instead of coming in. We've been in business for 16 years. So when COVID hit, we did shut down for three weeks.

01:09

During those three weeks, we converted our online system to where you can order anything from the bakery online.

01:17

We've been hit hard by COVID with death and sickness and fear and all the things that come with a pandemic.

01:23

But at the same time, I've watched a community that's come together collectively to care about one another.

01:29

When the Blue Zones project came into our community in Monterey County, it really brought harmony to our communities.

01:36

It has gotten our community thinking about how we can include every population, every neighborhood,

01:43

every group into walking into our downtown and just feeling like they're a part of something larger, better, and healthier for the region.

01:51

Awareness is a big part of it. And so we encouraged-- the tribe in itself encouraged people

02:00

to be a part of Blue Zones. When Blue Zones first arrived, they showed us the gaps that we were missing as far as our health and wellness.

02:08

During the pandemic, I saw triple the number of people out in the community hiking, walking, biking, families,

02:15

younger kids. Being a part of the Blue Zones project has been a game changer.

02:22

It's made me think a little bit more about my health and about getting out in the community and exercising more and thinking about what I eat.

02:30

We have thousands of individuals that have volunteered even in the face of coronavirus. So I believe this project in itself

02:37

has been an incredible connectivity piece for our community. The real test in the pandemic to see how we did in the past

02:46

is what we do in 2021. I'm not just talking about changing my own life and health. But I'm talking about changing young people's life and health

02:55

and the conversation we have with them when we have healthier generations moving forward. [INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]