The topic of resilience has come back in to my world the past few months. Over the years I have been intrigued by this topic and see it linked to all areas of work and life. From sports to education to business. Subsequently, I wanted to write and share more about it. In this post, I will discuss –
- What is Resilience?
- What is Change?
- Types of Change
- 5 Ways to Build Resilience During Times of Change
Let’s get started…
What is Resilience?
There are many definitions of resilience, including –
- “the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.” ~ Google
- “ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or thelike; buoyancy.” ~ Dictionary.com
- “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.” ~ Google and Oxford Dictionaries
- “the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens” ~ Merriam-Webster Dictionary
- “Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or even significant sources of stress – such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressors. It means “bouncing back” from difficult experiences.” ~ PsychCentral
Is there anything you would add to these definitions? If so, what?
What is Change?
Change is one of the few certainties in life.
Many of us want to change different things in our lives or about ourselves, but that is not the challenge.
The challenge (or issue) is we criticise and judge ourselves harshly for not making the change. And subsequently end up being in resistance with the present moment, which equates to suffering.
A few years ago, it dawned on me. I realised I had to change on the inside for the outside to change. It was a real lightbulb moment and I developed a deeper understanding of what Aldous Huxley meant when he said – “I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.”
There are many definitions of change, including –
- “to make or become different” or “an act or process through which something becomes different” ~ Google
- “to exchange one thing for another thing, especially of a similar type” or “to improve”~ Cambridge Dictionary
- “to give a completely different form or appearance to; transform” ~ The Free Dictionary
- “to become different, or to make someone or something different” ~ MacMillan Dictionary
- “to become different”, “to make something or someone different” or “to become something else” ~ Merriam-Webster.
Types of Change
There are many types of change you can make in your life. It really depends on a number of factors, why you are wanting to make the change and also what context you are referring to the change in. For example – if you are reading this from an organisational perspective, changes can be made in relation to –
- the people (i.e. cultural change, personnel changes and social change),
- the organisation (i.e. leadership, structural or strategic change) or
- the system (i.e. systems and processes, business expansion or improvement).
From a personal perspective, you can be experiencing change in a number of areas including –
- your environment (i.e. where you live and your surrounds),
- your relationships (i.e. meeting new people),
- your physical health (i.e. the food you are eating and how much exercise you are doing),
- your mental health (i.e. the thoughts that are continually going on in your head and whether you are reacting to them or choosing to respond),
- your emotional health (i.e. experiencing your emotions or surpassing them), and
- your spiritual health.
5 Ways to Build Resilience During Times of Change
There are a number of ways to build resilience during times of change, however I am going to share 5. They are –
1. Know what is in your control and what is not.
Spend some time reflecting on the question – What can you truly control in your life? Knowing the answer to this question for yourself is important for your resilience and as Denis Waitley said so well – “Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and remove yourself from the unacceptable.” You can read more here on this topic.
2. Adopt a growth mindset.
When you adopt a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset, you embrace challenges, learn from criticism, persist in the face of setbacks and find lessons and inspiration from others.
3. Find work that focuses on your strengths or virtues.
Do you know what your strengths are? If not, you can find them out here. Once you know your strengths, you can take the time to focus on them and create a life sharing them. “The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away.” ~ David Viscott.
4. Practise mindfulness.
By practising mindfulness you can learn to savour and appreciate the present moments in your life. Remember “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” ~ American Proverb.
5. Take time out to reflect.
Yes, I realise you may be busy, however reflection is important during times of change. By reflecting, I mean taking the time to review a current situation or activity, your week, day, month or year. It is a great tool that allows you to take notice and become more mindful of what is happening in your life now. If you would like some ideas on reflection, click here.
Over to You…
I hope this post has given you more insight in to resilience, change and ways you can continue to build resilience during times of change.
If you are ready to reclaim your courage and take the next step towards freedom and opening your heart, why not join our Toolkit?
3 Comments
Dyanne
February 14, 2019thank you great article
Jane
February 14, 2019Thanks Dyanne 🙂
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