Endurance vs Resilience

It takes time to achieve ambitious goals. Whether we’re training for a sports competition, saving for property, or building a business, these goals require a multi-year commitment.

Throughout these journeys, we will face challenges that seem insurmountable, making it feel like the world is against us. In these moments, it’s easy to feel trapped between two options: quit or endure.

Endurance refers to our stamina and persistence over a long period of difficult times and situations.

However, some people who endure without resilience may face negative mental health issues, such as burnout. Therefore, resilience is something we need to bring ourselves back on track.

So, what is resilience?

Resilience is defined as the ability to recover quickly after something unpleasant or a misfortune, such as shock, injury, etc.

Both concepts are related to how we deal with difficulty. For example:

If you walk down a path uninterrupted, you’ll start to feel tired. Endurance is when you push to keep going, despite the fatigue.

Now, let’s say you walk down that same path and encounter a fence. Resilience is your capacity to 1) hop the fence and then 2) rest and recover before continuing down the path.

How can we build our own resilience?

In the world of long work hours and results-oriented offices, one of the easiest ways to improve our resilience is to improve our work-life balance. This means making time for your hobbies, interests, and connections outside of work which could recharge yourself with more positive energy before you return back to work.

Don't get me wrong. This doesn’t mean totally ignoring unfinished important tasks at work. Instead, it’s about finding a balance between workloads or stress and your personal life. It's about managing your time effectively to accommodate/prioritize both work and personal activities.

Additionally, make time for self-care, take breaks throughout the day, be flexible, open-minded, and set boundaries whether at work or at home.

These might not work for everyone, as everyone has their own goals that come with different needs and wants. Hence, find what best suits you because, at the end of the day, we do it to curb the negative effects of endurance.