Tips to Resilience
Are you struggling with stress and burnout? Over the past few years, resilience has gained much attention at work, and for a good reason. Building personal strength has been referred to as a remedy for the stress and burnout that frequently accompany severe uncertainty as we’ve had to learn how to navigate an increasingly unpredictable environment at a speed we’ve never experienced before.
Psychological resilience is the capacity to bounce back from adversity, adapt, and develop. Those with resilience push the limits of their knowledge and expertise. They experiment with new concepts, secure in the knowledge that they can bounce back from setbacks and learn from mistakes, strengthening their mental fortitude to face obstacles in the future. Building resilience increases a person’s ability to test new ideas without being constrained by the fear of failing and to bounce back quickly from setbacks and become more innovative.
In addition, building resilience can effectively lessen stress and burnout because research has shown that resilient people adjust and manage better in bad or stressful conditions compared to those with lesser resilience reserves who may struggle to cope with demanding experiences.
Here are a few ways to increase your resilience
1. Emphasize increasing optimism
Maintaining a thankfulness notebook has been proven to increase optimism and is associated with better heart health and decreased depression. Write down three to five things each night that you are thankful for. It could be something as basic as drinking your morning coffee, taking a stroll outside, or something more significant like having a wholesome family or supporting buddy.
2. Form a committee to support you.
One of the important factors in developing resilience is support from others. So first, consider who you rely on for support and how each individual assists you as you plan your support system. Next, consider the areas of your life where you believe you have a robust support system, gaps, and places where you may use additional help. For instance, you might discover that while your manager is an excellent source of support at work, you could use more assistance in your personal life (or vice-versa). Once you’ve identified the areas where you require additional help, you can look for individuals to assist you.
3. Discover how to control your energy.
Like time, your energy is a finite resource that we can only use so much. And yet, when we feel exhausted, we seldom ever think about how we utilize our energy or if we are recharging it:
- Consider how you used your energy today before sleeping tonight.
- Think about your energy levels and the reasons you felt refreshed when you woke up (or not).
- Consider how you feel during the day.
During the evening, where were your levels? What experiences throughout the day gave you energy or replenished you? What would you wish to change or do more of in the future to feel revitalized?
It could be more realistic to conceive of resilience as overcoming adversity and meeting obstacles head-on. This can be a part of your journey towards building strength because, whether for personal or professional growth, there are moments when we must put our heads down and push through challenges.
At times, resilience may involve accepting unfavourable consequences or allowing yourself to feel uncomfortable rather than attempting to manage an uncontrollable circumstance. Not suppressing feelings in the future is what stability is all about. It’s about developing self-awareness to know who you are and what you must do to grow, learn, and adapt in any difficult circumstance.
