Resilience: Your Muscle to Manage Adversity

Our lives forever changed in 2020. The pandemic forced millions of people to navigate the fine line of working from home, while tending to personal and family responsibilities. We struggled doing our best to stay safe, healthy, and emotionally intact. There are countless articles and stories of how people leveraged this unprecedented time to rediscover their passions, reengage with their personal values, or simply reconnect and strengthen relationships with loved ones. For the many countless positive stories, there are just as many stories of losses, setbacks, painful events, and distressing situations.

The pandemic’s lingering effects coupled with the state of our economic, political, and social landscape, continue to adversely impact people’s lives. Many organizations have had to make painful yet necessary decisions to reduce their workforce, pivoting toward laser-focused strategies that enable their operating model to thrive.

Enter Resilience

When we experience personal setbacks, we make decisions - albeit consciously or unconsciously - about how to manage the uncertainty and change we’re presented with. Resilience is the superpower that gets us through life's challenges, and it's in our interest to practice strengthening this muscle.

Resilience helps us recover from, and bounce back, from adversity. It involves growing from the experience, and coming out a stronger, more enlightened person.

Ways to Strengthen Your Resilience Muscle

1. Manage Self-Talk. Take charge of the messages you tell yourself. Recognize the negative comments and feelings. Don’t dismiss thoughts; spend more time engaging in positive self-talk so you can be in a better emotional state to navigate the change. This Forbes article has great perspective on how changing your thinking can change your life.

2. Reflect and Reframe. Reflection is important. Take stock of what is abundant around you. Good health? Family, friends, and loved ones? Keep things in perspective. Assess and reframe. Remind yourself that setbacks are simply one point in time and not representative of the positive impact you have on others or the value you contribute as a professional.

What's in your locus of control that you can directly influence? How will you come through this stronger?

Reframing does not mean ignoring what is happening. It means understanding that setbacks are temporary and that you have the capacity to address the challenge you’re facing. Reframing helps you move toward a future-oriented mindset. If you find it difficult to reframe, consider relaxation techniques, as suggested by the Mayo Clinic , to understand how negative thought patterns influence feelings and behaviors.

3. Cultivate Connections. Connectedness is fundamental to well-being. Having caring, supportive people around you is a key component of psychological health.

Who in your network of family, friends and colleagues can you tap into? Who could be a great resource, or simply, lend a listening ear? Where are the opportunities to nurture connections with those who value you, with those who bring a positive, empathetic mindset, and with those who give you a sense of peace, well-being, and resilience?

4. Nurture Your Whole Self. Exercise. Optimize your nutrition. Practice self-care. Nurture your mind, body, and spirit. Make time for activities that you enjoy.

What brings you fulfillment? What would a meaningful activity in your day look and feel like? What practice(s) would enable you to calm your mind and connect with your inner strength?

5. Refresh Your Purpose. Refreshing your sense of purpose plays an important role in positive mental energy and recovery. This might mean cultivating your spirituality, getting involved in your community, finding ways to help others, or participating in activities that are meaningful and personally enriching. This also means making conscious choices to take action on a goal you set or an outcome you can influence.

Personal Reflection

Adversity is a part of the fabric of life, and I remind myself that I'm a work in progress. I understand that if I don’t strengthen my resilience muscle, I won't be able to move healthily along life’s journey.

How I manage adversity makes all the difference to how I show up as a mother, partner, daughter, sister, friend, aunt, cousin, colleague, and leader – and I want to show up strong.

I encourage you to proactively build your resilience muscle so you can call upon your mental reservoir of strength when needed. No doubt you’ll grow through this experience, and be better positioned to pay it forward when others need you.

How have you built your resilience muscle??Comments are welcome!