"What does not kill me makes me stronger"
Terrence H. Seamon
Guiding executives, teams and professionals through challenging transitions to change while strengthening their resilience and well-being | Leadership development consulting | Career transition consulting
This first newsletter of 2024 is about resilience.
After the excruciating year we had in 2023, we have to prioritize our well-being as we go into 2024. And chief amongst the components of well-being is resilience.
Job seekers, Most of you are facing an unwanted challenge, one that brings pressure, stress, and worry. If you are not careful, it can undermine your health and your cognitive ability to deal with the setbacks and obstacles that crop up.
What is resilience?
"Resilience is the capacity to withstand and recover from hardship or difficulty. It has to do with the ability to spring back into shape after you’ve been beaten down or knocked over."
What are some of the ingredients in resilience?
A positive mindset that is open to change, learning, growth and improvement.
Emotional control that provides the ability to notice and name emotions without losing decision making and problem solving capacity.
Planning for a compass, but with flexibility to shift in fluid situations.
Leveraging failure and using setbacks as learning opportunities.
Relying on one's social support network.
Adapting in a changing environment.
Reframing
There are many ways to adapt including reframing :
"...reframing (is a) term used to describe cognitive reappraisal, the ability to screen and evaluate our thoughts and replace negative ones with positive ones. It involves conscious reassessment or reinterpretation of adversity to find a positive perspective and something meaningful through the challenging events of one’s life. Positive reframing has been shown to be a strong predictor of resilience..."
The adaptive strategy of reframing says, Take a fresh look at your situation. Can you find the opportunity in job loss? Can you find "a positive perspective and something meaningful" in the challenge you now face?
Coming Through
Resilience is "the ability to endure, grow, and thrive through adversity." - Episcopal priest Alice Updike Scannell
Fr. Richard Rohr says: "We usually think of resilience as the ability to recover from an adverse experience and pick up our lives where we left off. It is that too.… But there are times when adversity permanently changes our reality and we can’t go back to the way things were.…"
Job seekers know what that is. When you experience job loss, that is a change in reality that in most cases you can't reverse. But you can and must come through it.
Resilience means changing
Fr. Richard Rohr quotes St. John Henry Newman: “...to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”
This ability to change as we meet the headwinds of Life is what we call resilience.
"Each of us has the ability to meet, learn from, and not be crushed by the challenges and stresses of life."
About the author: Terrence "Terry" Seamon has come through job loss several times. He brings that personal experience to the coaching he provides to clients.
Collaborative and Agile Senior Administrative Professional with Solid Communication Skills Turning Chaos into Calm
10 个月Hi Terrence. I'd like to add on to what Bernie Scibienski mentioned about continuous learning but this is a learning from a hands-on perspective relative to interviewing. What I am finding is that interviewers are reading from scripted material and the interview has morphed into a AI-influenced environment. While the interviewers are human, the persona of the interview is not. The interview goes something like this after a few moments of pleasantries. Interviewer poses Question 1, waits for the interviewee response, comments on the response and then says "Thank you for sharing that. My next question is..." Question 2 is asked, interviewee responds, interviewer comments on the response and then says "Thank you for sharing that. My next question is..." This (AI-like) pattern goes on until the interviewer has completed the segment. It would appear "canned questions" are bought by the employer that includes a very distinct, scripted pattern to close out each question with no room for deviation and, it would appear, no room for a truly human interaction. Wondering if anyone reading your post has had similar experiences. Should we now begin to learn relationship building between human and AI?
Technology Leader | Cross Functional Leadership | Fractional Consulting | Chief of Staff | Enterprise Application Development & Support | Digital Transformation | Client Relationship Management | Program Management
10 个月Terrence H. Seamon, another great post and one that is particularly personal to me. Being in transition being resilient, willing to adapt and have the ability to grow are critical. Without these traits every hour can become a week and every day a year. Stay strong, believe in yourself and have faith that there is a bigger plan for you; you may just not like the current path your GPS is taking.
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10 个月Very powerful words and what a great message to start the New Year. Thanks for sharing. To health, happiness, peace and "Resilience"!
Another great note from Terrence H.Seamon. When counseling Army Veterns returning to the private job market, we warn them that this job search Is the toughest job they will ever have; Job search and self-promotion require diligent effort due to various challenges. First, the competitive job market demands applicants to stand out amidst numerous candidates. Crafting an appealing self-presentation involves highlighting skills, experiences, and unique qualities. Additionally, navigating diverse application processes, interviews, and networking events demands time and adaptability. Furthermore, rejection is inherent, necessitating resilience. Balancing self-assurance with humility is key. The complexity increases with the evolution of job market dynamics, technology, and industry expectations. Succeeding in these endeavors involves continuous learning, effective communication, and strategic positioning, making job search and self-selling intricate processes that demand sustained commitment and strategic finesse. It’s o of the few places the product ( you) stays after the salesmen (you) leaves .
Hire longer-tenured, more productive employees through the proprietary methodology of “The Westview Advantage”. Hands-on Executive Search in Accounting, Finance, Operations, & Mission-Based Non-Profits
10 个月Thank you Terrence H. Seamon (Terry) for sharing your wisdom and passion as we launch onto the uncharted journey of 2024.