“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius
Some people describe resilience as the ability to bend instead of breaking when experiencing pressure or the ability to persevere and adapt when faced with challenges. These abilities help people to be more open and willing to take on new opportunities. In this way resilience is more than just survival, it is also about letting go and learning to grow.
Being resilient takes effort and practice. It may well feel sometimes as if you are taking one step forwards and two steps back, almost as if you are doing a little dance with life. The key however is to keep moving and to not lose the faith that you can and will pull through if you remain positive and hopeful.
The quicker that you can recover from setbacks the better, because life can pass so quickly and this is your golden opportunity to make the best and the most of it.
There are many ways that you can become more resilient and here are three useful tips:
Life can be very unpredictable and invariably we will all be subjected to various set backs and personal challenges. You can’t always control what happens to you in life.
You do however have total control about how you choose to respond to those situations. By taking personal responsibility for your reactions and attitude you will be far more empowered to cope and manage the ultimate outcome.
We all like to be in control, however, in some situations you have to put your trust in others hands. For example, if you found out that you were going to be made redundant or you were diagnosed with an illness you would need to accept that you couldn’t just wave a magic wand and make the situation go away. Sometimes acceptance and learning to go with the flow and adapt is the best use of energy. As the Japanese proverb goes – The bamboo that bends is stronger than the Oak that resists.
Thinking positively is not about putting your head in the sand and being unrealistic, as some people may believe. With a positive attitude you can recognise the negative aspects of a situation and then make a conscious decision to focus instead on the hope and opportunity that is available. This releases you from getting locked in a paralysing loop of negative emotion and allows you to bounce back from adversity and challenging experiences.
Everything you experience in life will teach you something and being truly resilient is about seeing setbacks as stepping-stones not stumbling blocks.
“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” – Steve Maraboli