Many of us grew up hearing elders repeatedly say, "life is no bed of roses." Little did anyone understand at a young age what this really meant. But it does not take long for one to finally grow into an adult and struggle to cope with the realities of life.
Everyone has their unique stories and unique struggles that no one but them understands the best. These challenges can be anything from trying to cope with the loss of a loved one or getting over a traumatic childhood experience. Regardless of the nature of your challenges, life still goes on.
But how? The answer to this question is resilience. This is the quality that keeps everyone going even in the most challenging situations. So continue reading to learn more about resilience and become a stronger person by the time you reach the end of this post.
What is Resilience?
There is no dictionary definition of resilience, but it is basically the capability to help one cope and recover from setbacks. Everybody in this modern society has something or the other bugging them or even killing them from the inside. But people who can still maintain their calmness and face every situation with a smile on their faces are the ones with resilience.
Resilience is not something you can learn in a classroom, but it is something your experiences teach you. Once you develop effective psychological resilience, you will be able to use your strengths and skills to deal with every adverse situation in your life.
There are many such situations in life where resilience can be the most powerful tool for an individual. Situations such as getting over a divorce, the death of your loved ones, financial hardships, and more are where you need resilience more than anything else.
Remember, it is also easy and rather tempting to fall into despair or hide your deep feelings with different coping strategies. But unfortunately, these coping strategies are generally unhealthy and can make life very difficult. Instead, one should opt for a more healthy and resilient approach to facing challenges head-on.
That is not to say that resilient people do not struggle with their feelings and emotions because they do. But the only and most important distinction is that they use better coping mechanisms to handle every situation with strength. Every challenge in a resilient individual's life will only make them stronger.
Important Elements Of Resilience
Now that you have a general idea of what resilience is about, let's dive deeper and get a better understanding of the different elements of resilience. Renowned psychologist Susan Kobasa categorizes resilience in three segments:
- Challenge
Having a goal or objective is imperative for every individual in this digitized world where perfect pictures of perfect moments keep many in the dark. One needs to find a reason to get out of bed every morning and put up a strong fight against all adversities.
Of course, chances are high that you will not win every day, but even if you do not win, you learn, and that's one step closer to success. All resilient people share a strong commitment to their goals. They have something they care about, which gives them the strength to endure resilience.
- Personal Control
This universe is too big for a mere human to control anything significant. You must realize and acknowledge this to become a resilient person. Resilience means focusing on things that are under your control. It is about focusing your efforts on areas where you know your actions will have an impact.
When you see tangible results from your efforts and confidence, a sense of empowerment will follow you automatically. Therefore, spend less time worrying about things beyond your control and focus more on areas where you can genuinely make a difference, no matter how small or big.
Effective Ways To Build Resilience
Building resilience does not have to be a very challenging task. Many simple practices can help you build resilience and take on the world like a champ. So let's check out some of these practices:
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Alter Your Narrative: You need to control what goes on in your brain. There will always be negative situations that do not seem to get out of your head. But cognitive restructuring can help you alter your perception and face negativity with resilience.
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Be Consistent: Consistency is what best defines a resilient individual. Good and bad days will always be a part of your life, but maintaining consistency will help you in the long run. Be mindful of the voices in your head when things go south and correct them if they are pervasive, personalized, or permanent.
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Learn To Give Yourself a Break: The increasing competition in modern society can push people to their limits. Pushing yourself to your limits is not always bad, but you also need to give yourself a break every once in a while. Make sure to exercise, have a good sleep schedule, and meditate if needed but never burn yourself out.
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Have Strong and Meaningful Relationships: Humans are social creatures, and having strong connections with others is what helped us evolve into what we are today. Never underestimate the significance of having storing connections. These connections will give you the support needed to develop effective resilience.
Wrapping Up
Life is challenging for everyone, but these challenges are what make everything worth the effort. So you need to learn to take on these challenges head-on with strong resilience against negativity.
The first step is always the hardest, but hopefully, the aforementioned information will help you get started on the right foot. Make good use of this information and use resilience to your advantage to be the strongest version of yourself.