Resilience is a skill that can help you face challenging times more easily. It requires high tolerance for emotional discomfort and an ability to bounce back quickly from traumas or negative experiences.
Becoming resilient doesn’t require facing an imminent catastrophe or tragedy; instead, resilience can be developed by dealing with everyday issues like new procedures at work or experiencing relationship breakdown.
1. Focus on your strengths
As you develop your strengths, the easier it will be for you to navigate life’s difficult moments and find shelter when trouble strikes. While it is normal to stumble along the way and have to try several times before finding success, if you keep working towards building upon your strengths you will eventually come out the other side stronger than before.
One effective way to build resilience is by practicing problem-solving techniques regularly, whether that be controlled breathing, mindfulness or meditation – whatever works for you should become part of your daily routine.
Another strategy is to take stock of both your realized and unrealised strengths, and consider how these could be put to use during difficult times. For instance, being exceptionally organised could prove immensely useful during crisis situations, since you’d be better able to see the big picture before breaking things down into manageable tasks. You might also take note of any less obvious abilities like connecting with people.
Motivation and determination can be critical qualities when facing difficult challenges, including those requiring negotiations. You might even use some of your personal strengths such as negotiation expertise or interpersonal abilities to your advantage in the situation – providing benefits from the experience gained during these situations.
Resilience takes time to develop, so be patient and kind with yourself as you try and manage life’s unpredictable ups and downs. Don’t get frustrated at yourself when bad days or errors arise – this will only drain energy from you and make being resilient more challenging in the future.
“Bouncing back” can be misleading; it implies an ideal world where one will return once adversity has subsided. Unfortunately, such expectations can lead to feelings of inadequacy or failure if your desired destination doesn’t materialise as expected.
2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Asking for help can be challenging when you are used to being in control of your life and emotions. Resilient people understand that asking for assistance is part of life and is vital in times of need, while less resilient individuals often struggle with asking because they think asking will make them look weak or don’t deserve assistance; when in reality asking shows strength and courage.
When asking for assistance, be direct and specific in what you require of the person helping. For example, saying: “I’m feeling overwhelmed and overworked and would really appreciate if someone could drop off dinner tonight would make more of an impactful statement than simply saying: “I need help.” Also avoid making excuses or diminishing your request and focus more on reciprocity than anything else as this can make people think they are helping out out of kindness rather than reciprocation – they may then feel obliged to help further in return!
In most instances, those you approach for help will want and be willing to assist without issue. If you feel uncertain if they can or want to assist, consider giving them some time to consider before approaching again. It may also help if they have previously shown empathy toward your situation and know exactly the kind of assistance needed from them.
Your workplace or school could provide a valuable support network; or personal development programs could help build resilience by cultivating growth mindset or practicing mindfulness – these techniques may help you cope with challenging situations more effectively while becoming more resilient over time. But remember, resilience takes time to build; it is not an instantaneous solution.
3. Don’t be afraid to learn from your mistakes
Failure often brings negative emotions such as guilt, shame and self-loathing; however it’s important to remember that mistakes can actually be beneficial. Learning from our errors helps build resilience while preventing us from repeating errors in future.
First step of learning from mistakes: taking responsibility. Doing this shows your commitment to ownership and accountability while improving self-esteem and mental health. Furthermore, altering your perspective about the situation to see what insights could come out of it may also help.
One way of accomplishing this is to take a step back and examine the big picture. For instance, when making mistakes at work, consider whether it helped or hindered your career goals and consider seeking feedback from others for perspective on this matter.
Finally, there are activities you can engage in that help to build resilience such as meditation, reframing situations, drawing strength from support networks, cultivating positive thinking and laughing more – these all play an integral part in increasing resilience, making life’s toughest challenges much simpler to endure. The more often these practices are engaged in, the easier life becomes overall.
Unfortunately, life will bring sadness, adversity, and tragedy – yet there are ways to become more resilient when times get tough and bounce back more quickly than expected. By adopting some of these strategies you will find that coping with challenging situations becomes simpler, helping to preserve happiness – perhaps you will even gain new appreciation of its beauty!
4. Be realistic
Resilience doesn’t involve dodging difficult events or pushing through difficult periods in life without responding accordingly. Resilient people take an adaptive approach to these experiences, using each challenge they encounter as a stepping stone towards reaching their goals. They might reflect on ways they could have handled situations differently or what would they do should the same occur again to build strength and expand capabilities as individuals. Resilient individuals also take time to celebrate successes; doing this allows them to feel good about themselves while encouraging continued hard work towards reaching goals.
Resilient people understand that tough times are temporary and that things will improve over time. They also believe in their capacity to overcome current challenges, helping them remain motivated and persevere even when hit with roadblocks. Resilience helps people gain perspective on the positive aspects of their lives while remaining motivated to push through to reach success.
As every individual differs in how they build resilience, strategies may vary accordingly. It is essential to keep in mind the many resources and support networks available. Furthermore, it can be helpful to explore your past experiences and sources of strength in order to create a resilience-building strategy tailored specifically for yourself.
One key point when working to build resilience is to focus on what you can control. While you cannot influence whether a job opportunity comes your way or the weather turns sunny on picnic day, your efforts and attitude in these situations will have an effect on how effectively you deal with challenges.
Resilence can be challenging, yet achievable. If you are finding it difficult to be resilient, professional assistance such as counseling or psychotherapy could help – they may provide techniques for dealing with stress or anxiety or helping develop healthy coping mechanisms to assist.