Life is full of upsets, many of which can affect people deeply. Job loss, bereavement, marital breakdowns, debt, ill-health—just a handful of examples. Out there are people who appear more able than others to bounce back. It’s not that they feel the effects of adversity any less deeply it’s just that they have a certain quality, one we term resilience.
There’s nothing particularly special about resilience except of course its protective effects against stress. So when I say nothing special, I’m referring to the fact that very ordinary skills can be applied by anyone in order to develop resilience. In this post I’m looking into the ingredients that, when combined, appear to make resilience what is it:
Optimism: Perhaps the most significant resilience skill, and one that can be developed. Think of optimism as a tendency to see favorable outcomes. As an optimist your glass will be half full. As a pessimist it will be half empty.
Empathy: is about putting yourself in other people’s shoes. You see and feel the world as they experience it. Empathy is essential for building relationships and relationships are important when support is needed.
Emotional Regulation: is about keeping our emotions in check. If you’ve ever had cause to regret the things you’ve said or done it is likely these have come about because you’ve let your emotions take control. Empathy helps us see things from another’s perspective but we can also learn to regulate our emotions through practices like mindfulness or other forms of meditation.
Causal Analysis: refers to getting to the root cause of a problem and this helps us both understand and focus attention on possible helpful changes. Causal analysis requires some depth of thought and use of the word why? For example, why did I just lose my cool? (because I’m frustrated). Why am I frustrated? (because I’m stressed) Why do I think I’m stressed - what are the signs of stress? And so forth.
Self Control: is about coping with uncertainty and not make snap judgments or behaving impulsively.
Self-Efficacy: refers to your belief in yourself. Self-efficacy is about having the confidence to take a course of action that will ultimately solve problems.
Action: may refer to a number of possibilities. It may be turning to others for support or advice or it may be about following some other path. Action is about doing something rather than nothing, but it is based upon weighing up costs and benefits before settling on something.
In subsequent posts I’ll look more deeply into each of the components I’ve listed, what they mean, and how they can be developed.
See More Helpful Articles
Jerry Kennard, Ph.D., is a chartered psychologist and associate fellow of the British Psychological Society. Jerry’s clinical background is in mental health and, most recently, higher education. He is the author of various self-help books and is co-founder of positivityguides.net.