“Resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive.” Jamais Cascio.

I mentioned in last week’s blog that I have supported my football team, Peterborough United since I was a child. It has been a challenging season for the team. We had to sell lots of our players at the end of last season and start building a new squad. As a result, we now have the youngest squad in the entire football league. When you have a young team, you tend to get inconsistent results. Experience shows that they will get brilliant results one week and turn in poor performances the next.

Given how challenging the season has been, it was fantastic to be present at Wembley stadium last Sunday to watch the Vertu Trophy final, when my team pulled off a brilliant victory against Birmingham City. Most people including expert pundits expected Birmingham City to win easily. We won the game 2-0. In doing so, Peterborough United made history by becoming the only side to win the trophy in successive seasons and equal the record for winning the trophy the most times.

The victory last Sunday was hard fought. The young team had to show great resilience and belief despite some poor results in the week before the final. I was impressed by their resilience in the face of much pressure in the game and the challenges they’ve faced this season. They achieved their goal of winning the trophy and became record breakers against all the odds.

Resilience requires us all to develop the ability to cope with relentless change and to be flexible in our thinking. The capacity to quickly recover from difficulties, set-backs, challenges and disappointments is a great quality to possess and builds our self-confidence and esteem.

It may be that the ability to adapt and bounce back is stronger in some people than others. However, with focus and attention you can develop your resilience just as you can build up muscles through regular exercise. I believe that having great resilience and the capability to find extra reserves of energy when required are vital to help people to flourish and thrive.

Certain conditions in people’s lives help them to be resilient. These include having a few people to talk to without feeling judged and also receiving regular encouragement from others. Maintaining good health and physical condition with regular exercise, sufficient sleep and a healthy diet play an important role. Being involved in community projects, charitable causes, staying optimistic and expecting things to work out for the best also help.

Here are some ideas to help you to develop resilience:

Goal setting

Having personal goals, even small every day ones help you to look towards the future with optimism and provide a sense of accomplishment once completed. Goals you’ve achieved in the past are a strong reference point in the future when you’re pursuing something and the going gets tough.

Acceptance and positive expectations

Accept that you are unable to change the past and focus your energy on the present moment, your growth and development. Have positive expectations of success and create a mechanism to review your progress. Maintain a positive attitude and optimistic outlook.

Make room in your life for laughter and fun

The ability to maintain a sense of humour and to see the funny side of a situation when facing a challenge is a great coping mechanism. It helps to relieve stress and keep your spirits up.

Remember how you conquered previous challenges

When you face a fresh challenge remind yourself how you conquered a previous challenge and the learnings that you took from the experience. It’s good to have clarity about strategies that helped you cope with previous hardship.

The importance of self-care

Take care of your needs and feelings both physically and emotionally. Engage in hobbies and pastimes that you really enjoy and contribute positively to your overall wellbeing. Get sufficient sleep each night and exercise daily.

Maintain a journal

This helps to externalise your feelings and provides a sense of clarity and perspective. It quite often allows you to view situations in a different way and conjures up new perspectives for you to consider. It can help you to create some new ideas, approaches and action plans that you can practically apply.

This week, why not pause for a few moments to reflect and consider what action you can take to develop your resilience.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk;