Learning Resilience

So how the heck does someone learn how to be resilient? Doesn’t it just require general toughness and the ability to recover quickly? Some folks are just lucky enough to be born with these characteristics. Right?!?!? Not so fast.

We can actually build up/learn to be more resilient, and here are some possible strategies:

-Fall: Get out of your comfort zone, take a chance and potentially ‘fail.’ The thing about ‘failing’ is that you have figured out what doesn’t work for you. This, in turn, has you reevaluating what does work. You learn with the falling, as long as you are falling forward. Because that forward fall is making progress.

-Think: Instead of focusing on what went ‘wrong,’ think how things will be brighter down the road. This actually reduces stress over perceived missteps.

-Change: Yup! There’s that word most like to avoid. Most folks will do anything to keep things routine. But remember. Change is what helps us grow. So, change that which you can and learn to roll with the punches with that which you can’t.

-Do: Act decisively. Go in full throttle. Be confident. Take Charge. And if things don’t turn out as you had hoped, that’s okay too. Because we learn from these mishaps. And in that learning, we try, try, again.

-Love: Take breaks. Engage in stuff that makes you smile. Care for your body, mind and spirit. That self-love seems to make almost anything seem a little less daunting and much more attainable.

And you don’t need to do these all at once, all day, every day. Just take one out for a test drive for a week or so. See how it feels. Adjust where necessary. Once it gets a bit more comfortable, select another one to try. Over time, you will most likely notice an increase in your resilience. Viva la resiliencia!