Resilience is the ability to bounce back, recover and grow from life’s adversities. Those who are resilient are able to cope with stress more effectively and maintain a positive outlook on their circumstances. Research has shown that whilst some are naturally resilient these behaviours can be developed.
If you want to learn some ways that you can boost your resilience, below are 9 ways that can help:
1. Strengthen your belief in your abilities
According to research one of the most important factors in recovering from difficult events and coping with stress stems from self-esteem. Having a higher level of self-esteem enables you to become more confident in your abilities to respond and deal with stressful situations.
Some ways that you can strengthen your levels of self-belief include making a list of your strengths and accomplishments and keeping this list somewhere you can see it every day, choosing not to say negative things about yourself and being your own cheerleader instead and keeping promises that you’ve made to yourself so you don’t let yourself down.
2. Nurture yourself
Often when we are stressed it can be easy to neglect our needs, losing sleep, not eating properly or taking care of our overall wellbeing can be common responses to stress. Enhancing your self-nurturing skills by taking time out for yourself to do activities that you enjoy such as taking time to get outdoors, going for a walk in the park, meditation, exercise classes or pampering days are all effective ways that you can take a break from whatever the situation is so that you can take care of your needs which can help you to feel ready to face any challenge that life may throw your way.
3. Embrace change
An essential part of resilience is the ability to adapt to change. The more flexible you are the better equipped you’ll be at responding to circumstances which may be beyond your control. Resilient people understand that in order to evolve, embracing change is fundamental as it allows them to open up to opportunities, branch out in new directions and thrive. A great way to embrace change is to take small steps outside of your comfort zone; you could try new cuisines, a new route to work, new activities or learn new skills all of which can help you to feel more comfortable with change.
4. Reflect on your past experiences
Reminding yourself of the experiences in your past which have shaped you into being a stronger person can help you to keep things in perspective and reinforce the belief that if you could get through that experience, you can get through these ones too. Making a list of all the events that you have overcome and have made you a stronger person can act as a great source of comfort in moments that you may feel overwhelmed.
5. Show Kindness
Having a sense of connection to something meaningful can help us to continue driving forwards in the midst of a challenge. Choosing to show kindness by lending someone a helping hand, taking part in activities within your local community, doing something for charity even if it’s simply taking a bag of clothes to the local charity shop or giving someone some genuine praise or a compliment are all ways that can help you to show kindness to others and help you to feel more connected to others.
6. Develop a solid circle of support
When you have a solid circle of caring and supportive people in your life, you’re more likely to have people who you can confide in, share your feelings with and brainstorm possible solutions to your challenges with. Sometimes all you need to make your day brighter is a good catch-up with a friend.
7. Set Goals
Having goals to work towards can help you to sustain your motivation to continue pushing ahead and feel a sense of accomplishment when you achieve them. Resilient people are able to set goals and take the steps to achieve them; doing so helps them to get comfortable with change and strengthens their ability to overcome any possible obstacles along the way.
8. Enhance your problem solving skills
Research has shown that those with the ability to come up with solutions to problems tend to cope better with challenges than those who don’t. If you want to enhance your problem solving abilities you can approach situations with ‘how’ and ‘what’ questions such as ‘how can I improve this situation? Or ‘what can I do to change things for the better?’ When you train your mind to start directing its thoughts towards powerful questions it can help you to think of potential ways that you can solve a problem, you could also list the solutions you’ve brainstormed onto a piece of paper to remind you of the steps you can take should a similar challenge occur in the future.
9. Look for the silver lining
Sometimes when you are going through a dark period it can be difficult to remain optimistic but directing your thoughts to focus on the positives in your life helps you to take the lesson from the situation, know that just as the good times don’t last, the bad times don’t either and this knowledge can enhance your skills to combat any challenges that fly your way. When you remain hopeful about a brighter future it moves you one step closer to getting to it.
People only become resilient by having to deal with setbacks it’s a part of the process, reminding yourself that you will find a way over it, around it or through it as well as remembering that this will pass because things always do, can help you to become more comfortable with overcoming setbacks and maintaining a positive outlook.
The Coaching Academy was established in 1999, and is now the world's largest coaching school.
In that time we have trained over 14,000 people to become life coaches.
We are accredited by the International Coach Federation and the Association for Coaching, and we're rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
