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

At the start of last week, legal requirements relating to social distancing and other restrictions were lifted in England. The Covid -19 pandemic is far from over but this move is a step back towards how life was before the virus struck.

Many people have had to display resilience over the past 16 months to cope with the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic and the various restrictions and lockdown measures. Resilience is a quality that I really admire in people.

I always enjoy reading stories about how people showed tremendous resilience in the face of adversity or achieved something against all the odds. Resilience is defined in the dictionary as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties and having toughness.

The ability to cope with relentless change and to be flexible in thinking are key to helping people thrive in today’s demanding world. The capacity to quickly bounce back from set-backs, challenges and disappointments is a wonderful quality to possess. Resilience is an innate human quality and It also involves having to continually anticipate and adjust to shifting trends.

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 thrive.

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

It is possible to develop your resilience and I have detailed some ideas and tips on how to do this below: –

Goal setting

Having personal, even small every day goals help you to look towards the future with optimism and provide a sense of accomplishment once completed. Small action steps applied consistently every day lead to outstanding results. Goal achievement helps to provide a strong reference point in the future when 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 and your growth and development. Have positive expectations of success and create a mechanism to review your progress. Place your attention on how you are progressing in life and remind yourself regularly how you have evolved. 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 and an excellent habit to develop. It helps to relieve stress and keep your spirits up. To ensure you laugh often set regular time aside to watch funny movies, TV shows or read humorous books.

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 how you coped with previous hardships and the skills and strategies that helped you. I find that when a difficulty presents itself that it’s useful to tell myself that everything changes and like a storm “that this too will pass.”

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 maintain regular sleep patterns. Exercise for 30 minutes each day. A brisk daily walk is a good way to achieve this and gives you some fresh air.

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. Often it can help you to create some new ideas, approaches and action plans to put into practice to solve problems.

Practice stress management and relaxation techniques

Many people tell me how useful they find practising yoga, meditation or visualization techniques. It gives them a sense of inner calm and balance. Increasingly mindfulness techniques are gaining in popularity and there are some good apps and books available. All of these approaches contribute positively to helping people to cope effectively with difficult and challenging circumstances.

This week, why not take a few moments to reflect and consider how resilient you are. Is there any action you need to 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