RESILIENCE: PART TWO

Last week, we learned what resilience was and the characteristics of resilient people. Let’s review: resilience is one’s ability to ‘bounce back’ from setbacks, barriers, or challenges. And remember, resilience does not take away life’s difficulties and resilient people still feel heavy and uncomfortable emotions. But, once you start practicing this skill, your experience within times of crisis and after, will significantly change for the better.

Building resilience will create for you an inner reservoir of strength allowing you to be confident within chaos, and have a vision to rebuild and recover.

Everyone will experience twists and turns in life, some are small and short-lived, and others are traumatic events, leaving lasting impacts. Furthermore, everyone has different levels of resilience. You may recall some people in your life who appear to get energized and motivated in light of chaos, and end up stronger following their unfortunate circumstance. Whereas others, seem to crumble in response to chaos.

Thankfully, like building muscle in the body, resilience is a skill that can be strengthened overtime. By focusing on the four main components listed below, you will begin to increase your capacity to face life with more resilience and continue to grow.

Four Components to Build Resilience

Often times, seasons of hardship can cause people to move towards isolation. Connecting with understanding, supportive, and empathetic individuals will help remind you that you are not alone. But don’t wait to reach out – take action now and prioritize connecting with the compassionate and trustworthy people in your life.

When life gets difficult, stress can take quite a toll on our overall well-being. Prioritize healthy lifestyle habits now, so that when faced with crisis, you are physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to take it on. Focus on good nutrition, adequate sleep, hydration, regular physical activity, and work-life balance.

Finding your purpose will bolster self-worth, connection with others, and produce a greater perspective on life. All of these will in turn empower you to grow in resilience. Take initiative now and reflect on your unique purpose. Next, make realistic and achievable goals to help you attain your purpose. It may even be as simple as asking yourself, “What is one thing I can do today to help me accomplish my purpose”?

According to the National Science Foundation, an average person has about 12,000-60,000 thoughts per day. Of those, 80% are negative and 95% are repetitive thoughts. Yikes! So what’s going on in your head all day? Try to identify some irrational or negative thought patterns and instead, practice a more balanced outlook on your circumstances. Crisis will make it difficult to see beyond your struggle, but maintaining a hopeful perspective empowers you to anticipate that good things will indeed come your way!                                                                                             

DON’T MISS WEEK 3!

Next week we will dig deeper into the four components of resilience and learn practical, everyday steps we can take to grow resilience in times of crisis!