What do you do when the events of your life take you down a peg or two? If you have done your life's learning homework you revert to a healthy series of behaviors, strategies for resilience and/or techniques that you know from past experience will make you feel better about yourself.

I was reminded of some of these last week when some unexpected disappointing news temporarily set me on my ear.

The first took advantage of my knowledge and experience that tapping into the right side of my brain, where creativity and imagery reside, can temper left brain facts and the emotions and feelings they can produce. This time I made use of a technique called "anchoring" where, in the moment we intentionally tie a pleasant experience to memory by associating it with a physical motion. This time I put the fingernail of my thumb next to the top digit of my middle finger, closed my eyes and immediately remembered a special moment that occurred more than fifteen years ago. I was walking on an Oregon beach with a new friend. A few wispy clouds promised to make the sunset spectacular. The air was still and clean. It was one of those almost perfect days when the lecture I'd delivered for a conference had been well received; the workout I'd led generated lots of smiles and the healthy, family style conference meals had been filled with the camaraderie of shared experiences and new acquaintances. Now, years later, as I repeated the physical action, the memory and sensations of that evening came flooding back, filling me with a warm, healing smile.

The second strategy I used burned some minutes on my telephone calling card as I made contact with special friends near and far away. Conversations with friends following a "you won't believe what happened" introduction can be crucial in putting us back on steadfast feet when disappointment strides into our life. My close friends have an uncanny ability to empathize and listen with affection, nurture me in healthy ways, ask questions that bring clarity to my perspective and provide feedback (when I want it) with honesty and candor. They are people who have shown through the years I can trust them to support me and remind me of the tools I have developed to solve my own problems.

The third strategy I used when I couldn't sleep was putting my pen to paper. I'm a visual learner whose mind races so quickly that putting those thoughts on paper are often the best way for me to bring clarity to the jumbled thoughts that can follow getting thrown off balance by unexpected news. My writing coach would be proud of my effort to write and rewrite until the words, which clearly echoed my thoughts and feelings, brought me back to center. I also used my trusty computer to recall previous penned efforts when I'd listed criteria important to a fulfilling life, reminders of what I know to be my truth and another that overviewed personal goals and objectives.

Last but not least I increased repetition of an affirmation that begins "I am creating my own beautiful dayŠ." That's the ultimate truth-that every day the choices I make sets the stage for how my day will go. In short, life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I deal with it.

If you don't have a series of strategies to turn frowns upside down by meeting your challenges as a victor vs. a victim, get to work today to stock your cupboard with the tools that make a good life terrific.