Becoming More Resilient

WHAT IS RESILIENCE?

Resilience is an important part of being emotionally intelligent and succeeding in life. It’s not necessarily an easy thing to conquer, though. Even if you are resilient as a parent, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be resilient at work or in other aspects of your life. And vice versa.

The American Psychological Association offers this definition of resilience: “The process of adapting well in the face of trauma or tragedy, threats or other significant sources of stress.”

Positivepsychology.com made an important note: “Resilience may also change over time depending on your interactions and the environment around you. The more that is learned about resilience, the more potential there is for integrating these concepts into relevant areas of life.”

Focusing on improving one’s resiliency can potentially influence a positive outcome more effectively than exploring the negative consequences of trauma or stress, that website pointed out.

“Developing skills of resilience can help you face challenges and difficulties in life, which can help you feel better and cope better.

“In essence, resilience helps you handle stress more positively. Everything in life is about balance. Without the darkness, you would not appreciate the light. Without sadness, you would not appreciate joy. Like the yin and the yang, you need both positive and negative emotions and experiences to appreciate what you have.

“Life isn’t always going to be easy – but it shouldn’t always be hard. Whatever you resist persists, so learning how to let go and adapt to change and adversity can really help you move into a new mindset, and develop more resilience along the way.”

Reminds you of one of the phrases Sean Bacon uses — or a “Seanism,” as we call them.

“Keep fighting forward.”

Here’s a list of traits and characteristics that resilient people tend to have, according to Kathryn M. Connor and Jonathan R.T. Davidson, who developed the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale:

• Viewing change as a challenge or opportunity
• Commitment
• Recognition of limits to control
• Engaging the support of others
• Close, secure attachment to others
• Personal or collective goals
• Self-efficacy
• Strengthening effect of stress
• Past successes
• Realistic sense of control/having choices
• Sense of humor
• Action-oriented approach
• Patience
• Tolerance of negative affect
• Adaptability to change
• Optimism
• Faith

“Developing resiliency can help you maintain caring relationships with others and help you maintain a positive and easygoing disposition. It can also help you develop good coping skills and improve cognitive thinking skills,” the positivepsychology.com article continued. “Those who develop resilience tend to cope much better with life than those who aren’t resilient and they may even be happier.”

Do you consider yourself to be resilient? Do you have what some call bouncebackability? We’re grateful that you took the time to read this blog and encourage you to reach out if there’s anything we can do to help you, and if you’d like to hear how Sean Bacon can help fortify your resilience and emotional intelligence. Sean’s got your six!

Here's one last thought for the road about resiliency to consider from Dieter Uchtdorf: “It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.”

“Developing resiliency can help you maintain caring relationships with others and help you maintain a positive and easygoing disposition. It can also help you develop good coping skills and improve cognitive thinking skills,” the positivepsychology.com article continued. “Those who develop resilience tend to cope much better with life than those who aren’t resilient and they may even be happier.”

Do you consider yourself to be resilient? Do you have what some call bouncebackability? We’re grateful that you took the time to read this blog and encourage you to reach out if there’s anything we can do to help you, and if you’d like to hear how Sean Bacon can help fortify your resilience and emotional intelligence. Sean’s got your six!

Here’s one last thought for the road about resiliency to consider from Dieter Uchtdorf: “It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.”