Crisis is an opportunity sitting on a dragon’s tail. – Chinese proverb
That’s an appropriate expression for the times we live in, and for the chaos that creeps into our lives, at home, at work and in our relationships. When we face a challenge, there will always be things we can and cannot control. One thing we will always have control over is how we choose to respond: we can shrink back helplessly, or we can choose to see a challenge as an opportunity for growth and change. In a word: that’s it resistance and research shows that resilience is linked to a number of favorable health outcomes and life satisfaction.
We’ve chosen eight strategies to help you increase resilience in the face of challenges.
Whether you are dealing with life’s small problems or facing a major crisis, the more you can implement these strategies, the better they will serve you, improve your well-being and support your happiness.
Being resilient has health benefits
Behavioral scientists have shown this resilience is linked to health and well-being through positive emotions and healthy coping strategies, such as mindfulness, laughter, social connection and realistic optimism, which provide the following health benefits:
- strengthens the functioning of the immune system
- reduced risk of depression and anxiety
- better management of chronic diseases (heart disease, diabetes, cancer, pain)
- improved recovery time after illness and/or surgery
- deal more effectively with stress and daily problems
- improved vitality for a long, healthy life
Research also shows that people who are more resilient are not “always happy, no matter what.” They experience negative emotions, just like all of us. Resilient people have emerged strategies for living well and cultivating happinessthat helps protect against the harmful effects of stress and negativity.
8 strategies to increase your resilience
Mindset is important: Your mindset plays a crucial role in how you view a challenge, how you respond to it and how you deal with it, which in turn affects your health and happiness. If you focus only on the negative aspects of a situation, you default to a reactive and fear-based mindset. When you are reactive, your thought process defaults to “ready, fireworkgoal.” You come into harmony with yourself and perhaps with the current nature of the situation.
“We would do better to allow ourselves to pause and realign our thoughts and emotions, mind and heart, so that we can respond to the circumstances,” says Dr. John Borysenko, author of the book “It’s not the end of the world: developing resilience in times of change. “Rather than focusing on everything that is wrong or potentially wrong in a given situation, look for the bright spots and look for realistic ways to expand on them, as they will likely get you through a dark, challenging time .
On a daily basis, you can stay mentally “in the light” by reciting positive affirmations, keeping a gratitude journal, interacting with supportive people, and reducing your use of media outlets that perpetuate negativity.
Cultivate realistic optimism: Actively looking for the bright spots doesn’t mean fooling yourself that a bad situation isn’t ‘that bad’. Realistic optimism is the ability to look at a bad situation as an opportunity to assess its meaning for your life and create change. Take a page from the U.S. Army Resilience Directorate– look that frightening, uncertain situation straight in the eye and cultivate the faith that you will overcome despite the challenge of the current situation. When you train your brain to think optimistically, you then create the opportunity to actively seek out resources that can bring about the best possible outcome to your challenge or crisis.
Know your stress warning signs: Resilient people are well attuned to their moods, emotions and relationships. This awareness better prepares them for and enables them to proactively deal with chaotic situations. Just as doctors say, “Good thing we caught it early,” when you feel stress coming on, you can better respond to and manage its effects on your body and mind. You can cultivate inner awareness and strengthen yourself in difficult times by practicing mindfulness (see below), getting restorative sleep, jimmoralor spending time in nature.
Stay calm and continue paying attention: Mindfulness-based practices have been shown to increase resilience because of the way they help the mind and body prepare and respond to physical and emotional stressors. Mindfulness is a practice that allows you to be fully present and aware of what you feel, sense and experience in a non-judgmental way. Check out the many ways to bring mindfulness into your life.
Laughter is good medicine: When times are tough, seek or create moments of levity. Research shows that laughter is good medicine for body and mind. When we really laugh, the areas of the brain associated with positive emotions light up on scans. This produces a hormonal response that improves mood and supports health by lowering the levels of stress hormones that linger in the body when we feel sad, frustrated and burdened. So tell a joke, get a dose of stand-up comedy, or watch reruns of your favorite sitcom to boost your resilience.
Stay connected (personal): An important quality that is common among people who are resilient is that they remain strong personal social connections. They have people they can lean on, talk to, and trust. They are connected in family, neighborhood or community, for example through volunteer work or doing other good deeds. The health benefits of strong social connections include having a positive attitude, offsetting the effects of stress and reducing the risk of depression and anxiety.
Recall your victories: You’ve no doubt had your share of shining moments of glory, whether at work, playing sports or parenting. During a difficult time, take a moment to remember the challenges you overcame and how you got through that stressful time. You’ll increase your resilience, and most likely this will help you identify the resources and skills you can rely on to overcome a current challenge.
Look ahead: Are So It’s easy to blame yourself for setbacks and think about what you should/shouldn’t have done in a challenging situation. (We all succumb to what we should/could have done at some point!) To increase resilience, remind yourself that even if you have made a mistake, there are most likely a number of factors at the root of the problem been. And sometimes the path you chose really was the best of the not-so-great options. All you can do now is look ahead and focus on the next steps you can take. This helps your mind attune to the new possibilities before you and turns the atmosphere of despair into opportunity: riding the dragon’s tail.
If the stress in your life is wreaking havoc on your ability to function well at home, school, or work, it may be time to consult your healthcare provider or seek the advice of a mental health professional. You can also get help through these resources.
Other sources
Mindfulness-based stress reduction
https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-based-stress-reduction-mbsr/
Richardson, GE “The Metatheory of Resilience and Resiliency. Journal of Clinical Psychology. (2002) 58:307-321. (print) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11836712
Additional research articles by Professor Richardson, indexed at https://faculty.utah.edu/u0032514-GLENN_E_RICHARDSON,_PhD/research/index.hml
Boyrsenko, Joan. Personal correspondence and interview from 2015. Information from her book: It’s not the end of the world: developing resilience in times of change