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The 2020’s have had the biggest changes most of us have experienced in our working lives. You’ve no doubt spent a lot of time making sure your business is resilient enough to weather the storm, but you can only do this properly if you aren't resilient yourself! What does that actually mean though? How can you make sure you have the resilience to keep driving your business as we head into the new year? Here are 3 tips to build resilience for yourself.
What is resilience really?
Resilience is our ability to adapt to the impact of life’s adversities, traumas, tragedies, threats, and come out the other end at least as strong as we were before. It is not avoiding these problems altogether.
While some people have a high level of resilience “built in” because of their genetics, early life experiences, and sometimes pure luck, resilience building skills can be learnt – hooray!
Tip 1: Build your connections
Going through traumatic events can cause people to self-isolate, which impacts our ability to deal with and overcome them. Connecting with people helps remind you that you’re not alone – so finding trustworthy and compassionate people who validate your feelings will actually help you develop resilience.
Joining groups can also provide social support and helps to build a sense of purpose. This will help generate hope, the understanding that the future will be better.
Tip 2: Foster wellness
Keeping your body and mind healthy are key to being resilient, because stress impacts us physically as well as emotionally. Regular exercise combined with healthy eating & hydration and getting enough sleep help strengthen the body against the negative impacts of stress, anxiety and depression. Keep emotionally healthy through mindfulness exercises, meditation, yoga, or prayer. Focusing on positive aspects of your life helps to restore hope.
It almost goes without saying but I’ll do it just in case – don’t try to mask or eliminate stress with alcohol or drugs. You want to give your body and mind resources to manage the stress!
Tip 3: Embrace healthy and positive thoughts
How you think strongly influences how you feel. Keep things in perspective by identifying where you might not be thinking rationally. For example, seeing difficulties way out of proportion or assuming everybody is out to get you. Recognising this thinking allows you to begin thinking in a more balanced and realistic way. While you can’t avoid stressful periods you can at least change the way you react to them!
Accept change – it’s always going to happen. Your goals remain the same, you just have a few detours along the way.
Maintain a positive outlook – this empowers you to expect that positive things will happen to you. It also helps reduce negative emotions. Practice visualising what you want rather than being stuck thinking about your fears.
It’s a learning experience – think about what you are learning along the way, because it will definitely be useful in future! Remind yourself about what you have learnt in the past that can help you now.
Where to from here to build resilience?
Change is eternal, and becoming resilient is part of the journey. It’s something you always keep working on. This article discussed 3 tips to build resilience, and you can find plenty more online. Doing it alone can be tough though, so don’t be afraid to get help – if you’re feeling like you’re having trouble functioning normally in dealing with difficult times or traumatic events do contact a registered mental health professional.
Some useful links to get you started on your resilience journey:
The Resilience Doughnut – Staff training and Professional development
American Psychological Association “Building your resilience”
Australian Psychological Society “Building individual resilience to improve workplace wellbeing and work outcomes”
Greater Good Magazine “Five Science-Backed Strategies to Build Resilience”
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