Stress is the norm.
The problem comes when it escalates to untenable levels. When unease & anxiety push us toward feeling despair & maybe even hopelessness.
Resilience is an important quality that can help us deal with stress and adversity.
THREAD on Developing Resilience 👇
The problem comes when it escalates to untenable levels. When unease & anxiety push us toward feeling despair & maybe even hopelessness.
Resilience is an important quality that can help us deal with stress and adversity.
THREAD on Developing Resilience 👇
Resilience is the capacity to bounce back following adversity.
It's tied to rapidly activating a stress response, but then quickly & efficiently terminating it once it is no longer needed.
Inability to shut off the response leads to chronic stress, rumination & catastrophizing
It's tied to rapidly activating a stress response, but then quickly & efficiently terminating it once it is no longer needed.
Inability to shut off the response leads to chronic stress, rumination & catastrophizing
Resilience starts with acceptance.
Accepting the reality of a difficult situation and our capabilities to respond to it. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we need not suck it up or bulldoze through the obstacle that is in front of us.
Accepting the reality of a difficult situation and our capabilities to respond to it. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we need not suck it up or bulldoze through the obstacle that is in front of us.
When we think of being resilient and bouncing back from stress, we tend to picture stoic individuals.
Those who are immovable to the pulls of emotion and the stress that often follows.
Yet, according to research, resilient individuals often possess emotional flexibility.
Those who are immovable to the pulls of emotion and the stress that often follows.
Yet, according to research, resilient individuals often possess emotional flexibility.
According to research, there are a few key characteristics that resilient individuals tend to possess:
1. Embrace Reality
Resilience is tied to having low levels of denial and the ability to face your fears. Being able to face whatever challenge is thrown your way, not through delusion, but with realistic optimism.
Resilience is tied to having low levels of denial and the ability to face your fears. Being able to face whatever challenge is thrown your way, not through delusion, but with realistic optimism.
2. Seeing Meaning in Adversity
Resilient individuals are able to extract meaning from struggle. This is tied to having what’s called cognitive flexibility, or the ability to reinterpret or reframe what you’re going through and what’s happened.
Resilient individuals are able to extract meaning from struggle. This is tied to having what’s called cognitive flexibility, or the ability to reinterpret or reframe what you’re going through and what’s happened.
3. Appraisal of the situation as a challenge
Whenever we face stress, we can either see the situation as a threat or a challenge. A threat is something we need to protect ourselves from. A challenge, on the other hand, is something that is difficult but within our capacity.
Whenever we face stress, we can either see the situation as a threat or a challenge. A threat is something we need to protect ourselves from. A challenge, on the other hand, is something that is difficult but within our capacity.
4. Proactive, Instead of Reactive
Instead of waiting to see what happens and then reacting to it, resilient individuals are proactive. They work to increase their resources or capacities to handle stress before hand & look for opportunities even while going through tough times.
Instead of waiting to see what happens and then reacting to it, resilient individuals are proactive. They work to increase their resources or capacities to handle stress before hand & look for opportunities even while going through tough times.
Researchers looking at proactive versus preventative coping in the work place summed it up quite succinctly: “Be proactive if you want good outcomes.”
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
5. Strong and Diverse Social Network
One of the best antidotes to stress is social support. When we feel connected to others, or have an outlet for working through whatever we’re going through, we are able to move from stressed out to back to normal.
One of the best antidotes to stress is social support. When we feel connected to others, or have an outlet for working through whatever we’re going through, we are able to move from stressed out to back to normal.
It’s why research shows that after a big loss, surrounding yourself with teammates who care and support can not only reduce stress hormones, but put us in a place where we’ll perform better in the next game.
https://twitter.com/stevemagness/status/1353526247280795658
6. The Ability to Let Go
When it comes to dealing with stress, it’s not the physiological responses that can cause our performance to drop. It’s the thoughts and feelings that come with it.
Learning how to let go, to stop the cascade of fear, doubts, or negativity.
When it comes to dealing with stress, it’s not the physiological responses that can cause our performance to drop. It’s the thoughts and feelings that come with it.
Learning how to let go, to stop the cascade of fear, doubts, or negativity.
7. Emotional Flexibility
Emotional flexibility is about holding everything at once — happiness, joy, and enthusiasm at the same time as anger, sadness, and frustration — and being able to feel differently at various points throughout the same day and perhaps even the same hour.
Emotional flexibility is about holding everything at once — happiness, joy, and enthusiasm at the same time as anger, sadness, and frustration — and being able to feel differently at various points throughout the same day and perhaps even the same hour.
8. Perceived Control
The most powerful weapon against adversity is having a sense of choice.
When we don’t have control, we lose the capacity to cope. We were born to choose, so let us learn how to do it.
The most powerful weapon against adversity is having a sense of choice.
When we don’t have control, we lose the capacity to cope. We were born to choose, so let us learn how to do it.
If we believe we have some degree of control over the outcome, then we are more likely to choose to persist, to find a way through whatever adversity we face.
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