Resilience, the ability to bounce back from setbacks. Managing the stresses of life in an agile way is one of life’s key skills. But how to boost your resilience? We take a look.
If you’ve ever felt under fire from stress and who hasn’t? you’ll recognise the toll it takes on your mind, body and spirit. Research consistently demonstrates the negative impact of stress upon our physical health.
Stress is part of life. Whether it’s change, work, relationships, family or health we’ll all experience stress at some point in or lives. It makes sense, then, to do what we can to reduce stress, whilst at the same time, taking a look at how we manage stress when it does happen.
What is Resilience?
Resilience refers to how we manage those stressful life events, how quickly we are able to recover from them. Think of it as your ability to bounce back from difficult situations. The good news is that even though we cannot change life’s stressors, we can change how we respond to them.
How to boost your Resilience
Some people are simply born resilient, the rest of us can learn from them. We can learn strategies to develop resilience and the more we do it, the better (and more resilient) we get. Here’s how to boost your resilience.
- Equanimity. Accept that change is part of life. Learn to bend with those stressful changes instead of wishing they weren’t happening. Once we practice acceptance we can begin to take control.
- Meditate. Studies consistently demonstrate that regular meditation lowers blood pressure, reduces anxiety and depression as well as dampening down our stress hormones. Add mindfulness, tai chi, qigong, yoga or deep breathing exercises to your resilience repertoire to reap the benefits. Download our free introduction to mindfulness guide here
- Cultivate your Support Network. Make new connections and re-connect with old friends to expand your social network. It’s good to stay in touch with others and will boost your resilience.
- Set Goals. Setting goals and moving towards them will help you to feel in control, increasing your self efficacy. An internal locus of control (believing that you can make a difference) is key to resilience and setting goals will help you get there.
- Practice self care. Take care of yourself, making sure that you get what you need. Think about getting a good night’s sleep, eating well and doing the things that make you feel good. Taking care of your physical and emotional needs will help you to boost your resilience and keep you fighting fit.
- Nurture a positive self image. Manage your self talk and create a supportive view of yourself. Recognise what you do well and celebrate your successes.
