How to be more Resilient

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from periods of change and adversity, stress and trauma, loss and disappointment. Resilience also provides the ability to cope with the strain and intensity of doing the “day-to-day” in today’s world.

Skills for greater resilience can be learned and developed – like any other skill. Our capacity for resilience depends on our capacity for flexibility, adaptability and productivity. Additionally, resilience contributes to making good decisions when we are under stress. Resilience gives us the confidence to ask for help when we don’t know what to do. Noticing and helping those around us who may be in trouble is another key aspect of resilience.

People who are resilient face the same challenges as everyone else. They are not immune from the stresses and strains of everyday life, they are not “lucky” and do not “have it easy”. Resilience means making challenges seem smaller by making ourselves bigger and more capable.

We can learn resilience by looking at the way resilient people respond to difficult or challenging situations.

Resilient people:

• Never see a crisis as insurmountable
• While no one can avoid difficult or challenging situations, we can respond to them differently.
• Resilient people look for opportunities within every crisis. 
• Could there be a positive outcome here, and if not, what’s the worst that can happen? 
• Imagine how you will feel tomorrow or next week or next year, how will this one event effect you then? 
• Is there anything you can do now to prevent this happening again? 
• Keep things in perspective, a crisis might even be an opportunity for self-discovery.
• Learn to accept and often thrive on change

Resilience is the ability to bounce back.

Sometimes we don’t have the choice but to change. But when control is out of our hands, we must learn to not only live with those changes but also thrive on them. Often the biggest growth in strength comes from adversity. 

A positive attitude towards change helps us make rational decisions, even when emotions are running high.

Set goals

Having a purpose helps drive us when things get tough. Knowing where we want to be in the future guides our decisions and provides a road map of the best direction to take.

Take action

What you avoid can often grow. Facing things head on and acting on existing situations mitigates further risk. Take action and take control of the situation.

Look after themselves

Resilient people know that if we don’t look after ourselves, we can’t look after others. Practicing self-care and keeping the mind and body healthy is key. Plenty of exercise, sleep and good nutrition means you are ready to take action when it matters most.

Nurture their support network

Make strong connections with those around you. Family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances, can provide support when we need help. Helping others also builds our own sense of self-worth and confidence, allowing us to keep things in perspective.

Keep working on building your resilience. You will soon notice powerful changes in your life.