Resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficult situations and avoid giving in to powerlessness. Our lives are filled with unexpected changes and sometimes 180° turns troubling and even traumatic moments. Some of these changes or moments will be anecdotal, while others may call our existence into question.
In all cases, a resilient state of mind will help you better manage these situations but also your stress, reduce the likelihood of developing depression, and even live longer. It will allow you to learn from your experiences and cultivate a realistic optimism by taking care of yourself after a failure, by continuing to move forward in your daily life.
1. Face difficult situations
It is often complicated to stay calm in difficult times, as stress prevents you from seeing the situation clearly. Managing your stress will not only help you deal with difficulties more calmly, but will also help you keep a cool head and face what is happening to you rather than running away or trying to ignore the situation.
If you are overworked and tired, look for tasks that you can take off your agenda. Do enjoyable activities that allow you to relax completely, and schedule a specific time to do so.
Meditation will also help you clear your mind and reduce stress. Studies have shown that as little as 10 minutes of meditation can relax you as much as an hour of sleep and help you deal with your problems.
If you feel overwhelmed or on the verge of burnout, meditation will help you slow down and keep control of the situation.
Another alternative is yoga, a study from Harvard Medical School seems to show that people who practice yoga are less sensitive to outbursts of anger and more able to manage the difficulties in their lives. When you practice yoga, especially by taking difficult postures, it builds your endurance and thus your ability to "hang in there" in difficult times, finding the resources to stay calm and determined.
Don't hesitate to get support if you need it, maintaining good relationships with family and friends will help you get the help and support you need when things get tough for you. You can also count on therapies or any other source of help you need, it's not a sign of weakness to ask for help, it's the opposite.
2. Cultivate your resilience
3. Adopt a positive mindset
4. Develop your problem-solving skills
- First, understand your problem. You may be dissatisfied with your work because you're not getting paid enough, but if you dig a little deeper, you'll see that it's because you feel you're not doing what you love. This will open the door to problems other than the one you were attacking in the first place.
- Find more than one solution. There is not just one solution to a problem (for example, leaving your job to volunteer full time), believing this will create difficulties for you in the long run because your solution is not practical or feasible. Instead, list all the solutions and select 2 or 3.
- Go for it. Evaluate your solution and see how it helps you manage your situation. If your solution doesn't work, don't take it as a failure, but as a learning experience.