Raise Your Resiliency

Do you ever feel like you’re at the end of your rope? Like everything is piling up around you and you’re struggling to cope? The last couple of years have surely contributed a handful of new stressors that many have strapped to our backs as we continue to trudge on. What if, instead of simply accepting the heavy load, we begin to work on our resilience?

Resilience is our ability to adapt to, or bounce back from, events that threaten to destabilize us. Things like financial trouble, workplace conflict, relationship problems and health issues. You might think these are out of your control, but you have far greater power than you know. Events will happen in life, but you are always in control of your response to them.

Here are three helpful ways to begin to build your personal resiliency:

Be aware of your thoughts

Thoughts come and go all the time, but we don’t need to claim them all for ourselves. It’s okay to experience negative thoughts and watch them fly right past you and out the door. You don’t need to fixate on them and give them any more energy. Instead, focus on creating more positive thoughts, especially those relating to yourself and events that occur around you.

Choose your response

We are always in charge of our responses. One helpful tool to gain more control is after an event has occurred: just pause. Think about the full picture and then respond thoughtfully. It’s far easier to lash out when you don’t consider all angles of a situation.

Maybe your brother made a sarcastic comment that really cut you deeply. Instead of getting into an argument, consider what his day has been like and any stressors in his life. It’s likely his comment had nothing to do with you and everything to do with him.

Make relaxation a true goal

We’re able to conquer numbers one and two above when we’re already in a de-stressed state. Start putting relaxation on the front burner and acknowledge it as the tool it is. When you make the time to care for your mind, body and soul, you’re capable of coping with life’s challenges much more fluidly.

Consider what a de-stressing routine looks like for you. Does a walk in the woods breathing the fresh air put you in a calm state? Does a good book refresh you? Whatever it is you need, put it on your calendar and hold yourself to it.

JOE KIEDINGER

ACTION PLAN: Take a gander at our 30-Minute Slow Down series from early 2020for more content like this. Our “Time to Work on You,” “Your Thoughts Matter” and “Your Words Matter” videos are a great way to continue the forward momentum while building your resiliency.