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Resiliency is certainly a high demand skill and a useful trait for navigating life, but what makes us resilient? How can we overcome challenges and accept the things we cannot change?
In a recent online training for our NextGen Leadership Program series, Senior Manager of Production at GovLoop, Hannah Moss, offered some crucial advice to participants about building resilience. Moss informed the audience of four types of resilience (physical, mental, emotional, and interpersonal) and shared her top ten tips to increase resilience in your everyday life.
- Reframe Resilience
The American Psychological Association defines resilience as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress.” Building resiliency isn’t just about practicing meditation and staying calm; it’s also a way to have fun and find new outlets.
Don’t feel like you have to fit a certain mold in order to build resilience. Find what helps energize you personally work through change or other challenges.
- Break it Down
Don’t try to increase your mental, interpersonal, emotional and physical resilience all at once. During the training, Moss stressed the importance of focusing on one change at a time. Whether you’re introducing yourself to a new diet or exercise routine, remember to start slow. Too much change at one time can be overwhelming and actually undermine your resilience.
- Recognize Obstacles
The road to success won’t be easy. As you move along in your journey toward building more resilience, challenges may arise, but don’t let them deter you! Recognize that obstacles and setbacks will occur and allow yourself the time and space to process them.
In order to allow change into your life, you have to give yourself room to make mistakes.
- Formalize Check-Ins
Moss suggested journaling or keeping a log of your daily/weekly interactions to get a good sense of your stress levels. She also relayed that journaling is a good way to understand and identify what causes you to suffer.
Simply writing out a daily checklist can help you to better prepare for your day and form habits of resiliency.
- Understand Your Triggers
A part of building resiliency is understanding what impacts you the most. Moss said that categorizing your values can help you figure out where to start because challenges to your values most often trigger high emotions.
Once you have identified your triggers it’s important to communicate them to others as well. This act of strategic communication can create healthier boundaries with coworkers and friends.
- Alter Your Perspective
Sometimes, achieving success can be as simple as a change of mood. Encourage yourself to be more positive and face challenges head-on. Reframe negative changes as opportunities to learn or problems that you can solve.
- Build a Resilient Team
Don’t let resiliency stop with you! Surround yourself with people who are also on the journey of building greater resilience. Create shared goals and practice new forms of communication with each other.
Don’t feel like you have to do any of this alone. Having a few friends by your side can help keep you accountable and reach your goals faster.
- Know Your Limits
Moss encouraged the audience to define their limits and stick to them. Although you might be able to handle anything that comes your way, it’s important to accept that not everything is worth your energy.
Assess your values and use your time wisely to ensure your resilience stays at peak levels.
- Invest in Yourself
Self-care is important, especially when it comes to maintaining resilience. Schedule time out of your busy day to replenish yourself, even if that just means taking a walk outside the office. Remember that your time and energy are valuable and deserve to be acknowledged.
- Make Resilience Routine
Moss recommended changing up your space to reflect a more positive energy or practicing a new skill. Whatever you choose to assist you on your journey, whether that be a new app or mediation, make sure to naturally incorporate it into your daily schedule.
Building resilience requires a commitment to both yourself and your goals.
Make sure to check out the rest of our NextGen Leadership series to get more helpful tips!
This article was originally published July 25, 2018.
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