How To Become More Resilient

There’s a lot of talk about resiliency these days, but what is it? 

According to the dictionary, with regards to an object, it’s the ability to spring back into shape; elasticity. Regarding you and me, it’s the ability to recover quickly from tragedies and challenges; it’s mental and emotional toughness.

But resiliency is more than just about bouncing back from failure and disappointment. It’s navigating adversity and adapting to change, especially that which we don’t want. It’s the ability to understand our feelings and emotional response to situations, which requires personal awareness, and insight.

Resiliency enables us to overcome adversity…and not just overcome it but rise above it. 

Without resiliency, we crumble under the pressure of adversity and challenges. 

Resiliency gives us the power to assess the situation and grow from it, which empowers us to move forward with our lives, hopes, and dreams, building on the lessons we’ve learned. 

How to Develop a Resilient Mindset

Here are a few traits and habits to become more resilient:

Optimism 

When life takes you to a dark place, and you’re facing an extremely challenging situation, choose an optimistic outlook; focus on something positive, no matter how small or insignificant it seems. How you view a situation defines the situation and shapes your response. 

Choosing an optimistic outlook will result in a more positive outcome because you’ll tend to identify opportunities instead of obstacles, empowering you to address issues instead of avoiding them.  

World renown authority on optimism, psychologist and author Dr. Martin Seligman, teaches that there is a strong link between optimism and resilience. Optimism, according to Seligman, shapes a person’s views on whether hardship is permanent, pervasive, and personal. An optimistic person tends to believe that adversity is temporary and not permanent, that it doesn’t taint every area of their life (pervasive), and that it isn’t happening because they’re unworthy or a failure.

In other words, choosing to be optimistic during adversity puts the odds in your favor. You will see “bad” events as temporary rather than permanent, and that a setback in one area of your life is unrelated to the other areas of your life – that just because one part of your life is “taking on water” doesn’t mean the ship is going to sink; and that you don’t blame yourself when bad stuff happens. It’s just life; bad stuff happens. This mindset allows you to adjust course and recover from life’s darkest moments and experiences.

Focus on What You Can Control

You already know that it’s a waste of time, energy, and emotional energy to focus on the stuff you can’t control, so why do it? Doing anything else spins your wheels and keeps you stuck. The way to strengthen your resiliency is to invest your time and energy in things you can control. This approach has the most significant impact on your situation because it’s productive and yields the best results. 

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is the ability to evaluate areas of our lives, allowing us to see what needs to be improved or is yielding good results. 

Through self-awareness, we gain critical insights about ourselves, helping us grow, adapt, adjust, or take action to change ourselves or our environment. We keep what works and release what isn’t serving our lives, goals, and dreams.  

Resiliency is a choice. Training your mind to be more resilient helps you to overcome adverse situations and circumstances. It empowers you to rise above difficult situations and shape circumstances. Choose to become more resilient today and unlock your best life.