Blog by Tracy Butz, Think Impact Solutions
We all endure tough stuff. And when life-changing or
stressful situations arise, your degree of resilience can dramatically affect
how you deal with and move through the hardship.
After all, it’s not the difficult situation that does you
in. It is how you choose to react to it.
Resilience is defined as the process of adapting well in the
face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or even significant sources of
stress—such as family and relationship problems, serious health concerns, or
workplace and financial stressors. What’s interesting is that research has
shown that resilience is quite ordinary, rather than extraordinary. People
commonly demonstrate resilience—like how we respond to job loss, personal
injuries, illness, relationship issues, death of a loved one, etc. Resilience
helps us adapt and recover.
Resilience is not a trait that people either have or do not
have. It involves behaviors, thoughts, and actions that can be learned and
developed in anyone.
Some additional traits or factors that influence one’s level
of resilience are:
- Make plans and follow through.
- View of self and confidence in skills.
- Good at communication and problem solving.
- Manage strong feelings and/or impulses.
According to research, the most important aspect is “Caring
and supportive relationships”—within and the outside family structure. The need
for connection with others is primal…as fundamental as the need for air, water
and food.
Who signifies resilience to you and why?
There are four types of resilience.
1. Physical. The body can withstand more stress and heal itself faster.
2. Mental. You have more mental focus, discipline, determination and willpower.
3. Emotional. The ability to provoke powerful positive emotions—like curiosity or love—when you
need them most.
4. Social. You get more strength from friends, neighbors, family and the community.
Research has also shown that while some seem to come by
resilience naturally, these behaviors can also be learned. Following are 10 strategies
to help foster and enhance your own level of resilience:
- Nurture a positive view of yourself
- Develop a strong social network.
- Be flexible & more accepting of change.
- Take steps to solve problems.
- Establish reasonable goals & take decisive action.
- Take care of yourself.
- Keep things in perspective.
- Look for opportunities for self-discovery.
- Maintain a hopeful outlook.
- Ask for help.
We each strive to confront tremendous challenges in life,
whether they are poor choices our loved ones make, job stressors that affect
our family life in significant ways, or health issues many bravely face, among
many others. None of us are immune. My hope is that you realize you can be more
resilient—it is more than just a possibility. And as H. Jackson Brown said, “Happiness
is not the absence of problems, but the ability to deal with them.”
