There is a growing amount of research and publicity on the power of personal resilience in managing pressure and avoiding stress. Despite this, many organizations still want to focus on stress management or wellness programs. While this is better than nothing, perhaps they and their staff would benefit most from focusing on building people’s personal resilience. (There is a strong case for also addressing organizational influence at the same time.)
Resilience has many definitions from the “ability to recover” a “The ability to withstand adverse events and stressful situations without breaking down, coping actively and positively with stress” (Stein and Book) Whatever your preference for definitions, you can probably identify certain times and situations in which you feel most capable and resilient. Perhaps you can use them to learn and expand the range of situations in which you can respond with greater resilience?
We have identified 6 components that we believe are critical to personal resilience. Each of these can be developed and considered a work in progress that you keep improving. Strengthening them will not only help increase your personal resilience, but it will help you in many other aspects of your life.
sense of purpose
Probably the central component of the six. It is the foundation for all the others. Not everyone is clear about their purpose, and it is often something you can define as you go through life. The stronger your sense of purpose, the better equipped you will be to handle and bounce back from challenges and setbacks. If you’re not clear, it can lead to feelings of frustration or lack of direction. Being able to identify this can help you feel like you are having a more meaningful life. Do you understand the purpose of all the activities you do or do you have a frustrating sense of why you are there?
For many people, their sense of purpose revolves around one of the following, or a combination:
people – interests or hobbies – religion or spirituality – personal achievements or ambitions
positive realism
This component is something of a balancing act, between being able to think positively about situations and events and being realistic about what can be achieved. (This is not about naive false optimism!) It’s about being able to generate positive thoughts and feelings about situations. If you slide to the other side, ask yourself what do you gain from having that more negative view of things? Practice seeing the glass half full, see the positive and you will start to feel different. At the same time, a good dose of realism is good. Reduces the possibility of unreasonable expectations and subsequent disappointment. Keep things in perspective and it will help you achieve these goals. Whether thinking about what could happen, or reflecting on things from the past, think positive and realistically. Focusing on what’s in front of you now can support this approach.
Relations
People matter to us. Supportive and caring relationships are essential. Your communication and interpersonal skills can be an important element of your ability to be resilient and how well you can handle difficult situations or times. Having people around you who you can contact when you need support or help is a real bonus. (As long as you’re willing to do so and don’t think it’s a weakness to seek support.) It is also powerful to be able to offer help and support to others when they need it. Developing your interpersonal skills to be able to adapt to a wide variety of people and interactions can help reduce the potential pressures created in difficult relationships.
Determined yet open minded and flexible.
How good are you at seeing things? When faced with challenges, do you approach them with a “can do” approach, being proactive and taking action? This component considers how well you finish tasks and things you’ve started. Are you able to keep going in the face of adversity instead of giving up? Your ability to persevere when faced with difficulties will help your resilience. An important part of this is your ability to be adaptable and open-minded. Rather than being narrow-minded in your determination, resilience is aided if you can be flexible in your approach to things. Avoid any tendency to keep repeating the same behaviors in similar situations and expecting different results! The willingness to explore options and alternatives will always provide you with a greater variety of options to deal with situations.
self awareness
This refers to your awareness of your inner being and how you think, feel and react. What are the patterns you have in the way we think or respond to different situations and challenges? Can you identify the positive ones that are most useful, and the ones that could be less positive? Resilient people are able to identify the causes of their success and failures and learn from them. They will accept responsibility for their actions and reactions. They recognize what challenges or situations are out of their control and that the part that is in their control is how they think and react. Evaluate your own habits about your thoughts, do you live in the present and the future, or do you keep going back to the past?
Self-management – self-sufficiency
This component is somewhat more pragmatic, considering how well you know and use your strengths and abilities and recognizing your limitations. Both at work and at home, do you manage your time and only take on what you can realistically handle? Overcommitment is a major source of pressure for many. Try to achieve your work-life balance at the level that’s right for you and those around you. Take responsibility for yourself and your actions. As you build your own confidence, you can become stronger by doing this. Taking care of yourself is also important. Your health, lifestyle, and even the amount of relaxation and sleep will help your resilience.
For organizations, you can really benefit from helping your people introduce some initiatives to help them increase their personal resilience. We know that stress costs your business, both directly and indirectly. Why wait until it becomes a problem? Support your people by working on prevention and start offering some personal resilience training or help.
People can use various ways to assess themselves. Debate with friends or colleagues, self-assessment, coaching or carrying out some type of profile or questionnaire. (You could try our Personal Resilience Index!) Identify where you think you could improve and where you feel you are strong. Think about your preferences or choices about how you might develop in the areas you want, and take action. Ultimately it will help you with your quality of life and potentially help you in all areas.
