Resilience

December 21, 2020 3 min read

Whether you like it or not, sometimes life’s just going to knock you down...

But, how you choose to react to that is what defines you.

Do you want to be the kind of person who takes a hit and stays down?

Or are you resilient?

While nobody is perfect 100% of the time, we can choose to get better and learn from our failures.

It all comes down to resilience.

What Does It Mean to Be Resilient?

Resilience is the ability to overcome adversity quickly and efficiently.

It’s the strength of your character that allows you to face challenges and negativity with courage and perseverance.

Resilience is a choice.

When you get knocked down, do you get back up and move forward? Or do you stay down and accept defeat?

Why Is Resilience Important?

Life isn’t going to give you what you want. You have to take it.

If you let challenges set you back, you’re never going to get anywhere.

Resilience is also about being able to look at a difficult situation...

...and choose to move forward with purpose, pushing through the challenge.

Your ability to keep your emotions in check through certain situations can literally prevent you from falling into states of depression or anxiety.

Research has shown that the psychological benefits of choosing to bounce back from failure, rather than sit there and cry about it, are unarguably better.

Each hard or challenging experience that you face in life is an opportunity to practice building resilience, and overcome the struggle.

What Can I Do To Develop Resilience?

If you want to become a resilient person … follow these five steps to build resilience.

1. Own your actions and reactions

You can’t control how other people choose to act...

But, you do have complete control over how YOU act.

Recognize that you can't change every situation sent your way.

However, you can take control of your mindset, become a problem solver, take the hand you’re dealt, and make something positive out of it.

Instead of wasting your time complaining about what happens to you...

Be the person who looks at what happened, and then chooses to be positive, productive, and embrace the challenge(s) you’re faced with open arms.

2. Be willing to improve

No matter how good you think you are, there is always room to get better.

At some point, you will fail at something. It’s inevitable.

A resilient person recognizes these failures as an opportunity to improve…

A resilient person learns and grows from that experience.

Be self-aware and recognize that you’re not perfect.

There is always room for improvement.

Being willing to make adjustments is a winner’s trait.

Humility is one of the best ways to avoid falling apart when you fail.

If you work hard and strengthen your weak points, you can develop into the resilient, successful person you truly want to be.

3. Keep the big picture in mind

It’s easy to get caught up in focusing on the negative things, and the stress of what’s going on.

But, when you’re faced with adversity, take a step back and remember what your overall mission is.

When you remember your “why” behind everything you do, it helps keep things in perspective, and focus your energy where it needs to go.

4. Have faith in your abilities

When you inevitably face failure, it’s easy to doubt yourself, and everything you thought you were good at.

Don’t kick yourself while you’re down.

Instead, take time to reflect on your talents, skills, and strengths.

Use that reflection to build your confidence back up when you’re feeling down ... when you need to remember what you’re capable of.

We all have strengths, use yours to be as productive as possible.

5. Take care of yourself

You can’t perform at your best when you aren’t feeling your best.

Take the steps necessary to take care of your personal health. Eat nutritious whole foods whenever possible, get enough rest, exercise consistently, and drink plenty of water.

You’ll be surprised how much more effective you are when you actually take care of your health.