When the pressure is on, do you struggle to keep it together? Here’s how to be resilient in the toughest of times.
Right now, we are going through one of the greatest challenges in history. A global pandemic that has spread across borders and through the population with little resistance. Millions have died, hundreds of millions have suffered the virus (Covid-19) and billions are now experiencing the fallout.
Fear, uncertainty, stress, anxiety, anger, depression, and hopelessness are commonplace. Then there’s the economic loss, the lack of freedom, and all the questions that remain unanswered.
Not seeing a clear end to all of this makes it particularly hard to bounce back from.
It’s as tough of a time that many of us will have to face, so we need plenty of psychological immunity to come out the other end, with the least possible damage.
Why we need resilience
Resilience helps us to deal with challenging situations. It can be thought of as a collection of skills, or as a process that allows us to survive, grow and maintain well-being when faced with a crises.
Resilient people are able to:
- Accept that setbacks are a part of life
- React calmly and positively under pressure
- Avoid making problems worse by reacting negatively
- Adjust behaviour to meet the new demands
- Look for solutions and solve problems
- Recover effectively
- Think of the collective and not just the self
- Focus on the future and re-establish momentum
Resilience makes us far more durable and helps us to overcome the pain, injury, suffering, and adversity that is part and parcel of being human. It also helps us to get more out of life, by going after and achieving our goals.
How to be resilient
Resilience can be built by mindfully cultivating positive thoughts and behaviours, then seeking out challenges to increase our tolerance for stress. The earlier in life we do this, the better, but there’s room for improvement at any age.
1. Improve self-talk. The way you talk to yourself is at the core of resilience, so the first step is to strengthen the words, phrases and questions you habitually use. Especially, those in relation to yourself and your circumstances. Pay close attention to your self-talk habits and replace any negatives with positives. “I can’t do this” and “I can’t handle this” should make way for “I can do this” and “I can handle this”. Repeat them often enough so that positive becomes the default.
2. Strengthen the body. Your strength, endurance, flexibility and posture play a massive role in resilience, so improve your fitness through some form of daily training. Fitness gives you the energy and the confidence to tackle whatever comes your way.
3. Set goals and look for challenges. Learning about resilience is one thing, but experiencing discomfort is what builds lasting toughness. We can do this in a healthy way by setting goals and looking for opportunities to challenge ourselves. The stress we feel forces us to adapt and grow, increasing our capacity for future stress.
4. Practice daily meditation. Meditation gives us that focus, perspective and sense of calm. It’s a state we can return to time and time again to protect, heal and gain insight when we need it. Things seem far less augmented when we can sit with them and observe them without judgement.
5. Create an emergency plan. Being prepared is half the battle so having some clear emergency plans in place can help to soften the blow. You never know how effective your plans are until they are pressure tested, but having something in place that you can turn to will help greatly.
6. Get back to basics. When you are faced with a crises, it’s wise to strip back to the bare essentials. Simplify your life and hack away the fatty edges. This is a powerful step in responding positively and helps to focus your resources on what matters.
7. Seek solutions. Creative, solutions oriented thinking shifts your mind in a positive direction. It gives you the answers and the direction you need to power out of a rut. Every setback has a solution so focus in on what you can do to get out of it, learn from it, and prevent it from happening again.
8. Think collectively. You’re not alone, so don’t let yourself suffer alone. Ask for help when you need it and make sure to lend a hand to those in need. People with a strong family unit and a supportive community feel more secure in themselves and are far more resilient.
Some people are naturally more resilient than others, but we can all benefit from dedicated training in this area. Introduce each of these methods into your life, one at a time, and you’ll quickly build up your ability to survive any setback.
And, most importantly, thrive on the other end of it.