What is resilience? It means being able to cope with situations in spite of setbacks or barriers. Essentially, resilience refers to our ability to recover from adversity.
We don’t have to be a world events expert, to realize that many places around the world have been hit with significant natural disasters. Hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanoes take their toll on homes and possessions leaving many homeless and without material resources. Many national economies are in turmoil, leaving a lot of people wondering about their financial futures. The toll on human life and spirit can sometimes seem unbearable.
While it’s understandable to feel devastated for a while in situations like this, some folks bounce back far more quickly than others. Instead of sitting around feeling hopeless and helpless, these folks have the resiliency to pick themselves up and do whatever it takes to start over again. Instead of dwelling on what they've lost and becoming depressed, they focus their energies on what they still have and what they need to do to recover.
This quality of resiliency, or the ability to suffer loss and recover from devastation, has a lot to do with our overall feelings of self-worth. It also has a lot to do with our belief about whether our life is largely controlled by us, or by forces outside our self. People with high self-esteem and an internal sense of control over their lives just naturally recover more quickly than those who feel their lives are controlled by some thing or someone "out there."
There are four major cornerstones to learning resilience. First, avoid feeling that you’re a victim. Second, accept that change is constant so it’s part of life so there’s no escaping it. Third, avoid seeing obstacles as being insurmountable. Forth, focus on the positive.
It is important to know that these are qualities that we can develop in our self and pass onto others. By learning to be so resilient, you will discover that no personal setback can keep you down for long.
Think about it…
