Let it Flow

Stressors keep piling up and may include demands on your time, your wallet, your health and your emotions. There are no isolated cases, it’s happening to all of us. So why does it seem that some can get through it so much easier than others? It’s a little thing called Resilience.

What is Resilience?

According to the dictionary:

• The ability to recover quickly from illness, change, or misfortune; buoyancy.
• The property of a material that enables it to resume its original shape or position after being bent, stretched, or compressed; elasticity.

In short, resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficult or unpleasant situations ( (ie, loss of job, relationship or death of a loved one.) Do you fall apart or are you able to cope? Resilience is not the key to ridding your life of stress, however, it is an extremely powerful tool know about so that you can effectively manage your life.

Why is it important?

Without it we cannot move forward. We get stuck in our thinking and our behavior. We think if something is bad now, it will be bad forever. Without resilience we believe the “suffering” we experience is the end and that good will never come again. Resilient people are in tune with their emotions, see the brighter side and take appropriate actions to move forward.

What it isn’t

Resilience isn’t just passing over hard times or emotions and ignoring them or passing them off as “no big deal”. Resilience is not saying “oh, just get over it.” An article by the Mayo Clinic describes resilience as a protection against conditions such as depression or anxiety. By managing your mental health through resilience, you are also benefiting your physical health. Resilience helps you see the learning rather than dwelling on the negative.

How Do I know if I’m resilient?

Resilient people tend to exhibit certain characteristics including:

• Connection to others
• Able to adapt to changing situations (flexibility)
• Make plans and take action
• Effective communication skills
• Ability to manage strong feelings
• Self-Confidence
• Remain optimistic (about the future)
• Avoid permanence and personal blame

Can you think of a time in your life when things didn’t go so well and you were still able to persevere? I can. Do you dwell in the negative or learn and move forward? Learning resilience skills is a key component to managing stress, health and enjoying your life. Stay tuned for more on learning to build your resilience skills. Get ready to change the way you think and act.

Tags: Positive Thinking, Stress //