Resilience – how is your bounce-back reflex?

When did you last consider how resilient you are? I hazard a guess that it’s not high on your list of Must Do things for today and yet perhaps it needs to be.

So what is resilience? According to one online dictionary it is ‘the capacity to recover quickly; to bounce back into shape’. This is not a hugely enlightening description of what resilience means to we humans, although it does give us a starting point. For something to bounce back into shape suggests that it’s been knocked out of shape at some point - that is has become less than its best and that it needs to return to its optimum state.

Optimum state, now that’s an interesting term; what is your optimum state? How do you look, feel and act when you are at your optimum? Understanding resilience is starting to take some shape now I think. Thinking of you at your optimum self, would you say that you have the capacity to bounce back from any knocks that come your way? What might you need to do or be that would enable you to bounce back more easily?

A lot has been written about resilience and I have tried to pull together a summary here of the capacities of a resilient person so that we can begin to build our own resilience.

Capacities of a resilient person:

• Self-aware; builds strategies to support and replenish self.
• Flexible and adaptable in adverse and positive situations.
• Optimistic about the future and the opportunities for them.
• Seeks help, notices learning from situations and positive examples to build own resources.
• Expect to recover; see setbacks as only temporary.
• Accept responsibility, take ownership, know area of control.

Knowing these capacities, how could you begin now to strengthen your bounce?

I thought I would leave you with a richer definition of resilience to allow you to focus more easily on the changes you would like to achieve:

Resilience is refers to how humans can adapt and overcome risk and adversity. Being resilient doesn’t mean you go through life without experiencing difficulties and pain; it involves developing as we age to gain better thinking and self-management skills and increased knowledge. Resilience is added to with supportive relationships with those who are in our lives, as well as cultural and spiritual beliefs and traditions that help people cope with the inevitable bumps in life.  Resilience is built out of a variety of behaviours, thought-patterns, and actions that can be learned and developed through life.

If you are finding it tough being resilient, a life coach can help you utilise specific tools to support your journey.