“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
― Viktor E. Frankl
What is resilience?
Are you someone who finds it easy to overcome challenge or do you find yourself regularly dwelling on setbacks that come your way? Do you struggle to bounce back quickly when things go wrong? Resilience describes the ability to manage difficulties effectively rather than be overwhelmed when confronted by adversity. An increasing body of research suggests that resilience is also a valuable predictor of success. For Pennsylvania University psychologist, Angela Duckworth, resilience is an even more accurate predictor of success than IQ. So how easy is it to build resilience?
Choosing to build resilience
Although our level of resilience isn’t something that can be instantly changed, the good news is that small steps, regularly taken to build resilience, can have a powerful impact on the ability to overcome future challenges. We can all choose to strengthen our level of resilience by following the following steps:
3 powerful steps to build resilience
- Make a choice to examine failure and learn from it. Dr Sean Richardson describes resilience as mental toughness but encourages us to think differently about how we view that mental toughness. When we are met by challenge, Richardson suggests that we develop the habit of taking a moment of calm to support ourselves in developing resilience, by making a choice to work with our emotions to accept failure and examine what we can learn from it, which in turn enables us to develop grit.
- Use adversity as a superpower. Dr Gregg Steinberg suggests that we use adversity as a superpower. Steinberg explains how challenge and adversity can develop emotional intelligence and grit to enable people to bounce back to an even higher level of resilience than before. For Steinberg, adversity creates a spot light and shines a light upon what is missing in life, highlighting what we need to be more successful and happier. He advises:
- Flip the Switch: You must see the adversity and challenge in a positive light and see the benefit from the experience.
- Harness your Genius: You now focus on your key strengths to find your true success and happiness.
- Develop a new Lifesong: You now have found your true path and have realigned your life in the right direction.
- Live in the Sweet Spot: You now live in your flow and you have immense energy. The world is drawn to you and people are attracted to you in ways like never before.
3. Find meaning in difficult times. For holocaust survivor and psychologist, Viktor Frankl, the difference between people who are able to bounce back and those who struggle to do so is the ability to find meaning in adversity. In his book, ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ Frankl explained that, “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’.” Speaking of his experiences in the Auschwitz concentration camp, Frankl described how recognising that our struggles have meaning gives us freedom and the responsibility to choose how we respond to any situation.
For more on resilience, take a look at Steven Claunch talking about overcoming obstacles:
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