Creating a long-term strategy for resilience

Life over the last twelve months has changed at a relentless pace, in some ways the world has changed more in the last year than it has the last decade. We’ve faced challenges we’ve never seen before and navigated intense periods of unpredictability. 

Underpinning many of the strategies that help us thrive in our professional careers is the capacity to be psychologically resilient, which is all about facing adversity and learning from the experience to move towards a more positive future. As I wrote about in a recent Mindset Matters newsletter, I believe the importance of resilience has been one of the key takeaways from the last year - and it will continue to be crucial for individuals and teams even when a global pandemic isn’t at the forefront of our minds. 

Establishing a strong, flexible and resilient mindset can help us become adaptive, agile and responsive in dealing with events and obstacles as they occur, thus allowing us to perform at our peak and achieve the best outcome for us in challenging situations. It isn’t about simply pushing through all obstacles without feeling any negative emotion. It’s about finding ways to emotionally and physically navigate difficult situations, having belief that we can figure out the next steps (even when we don’t have all the answers) and learning from experiences in order to move in a more positive direction in the future. 

Thankfully, everyone has the ability to practice strategies to become more resilient over time. In my new “10 Days of Resilience” coaching series I share a toolbox of ten exercises for enhancing resilience in order to prepare for the future. Below are three techniques to get you started.

Regenerate

Confidence and self-belief are critical to building resilience, and the first of six pillars of resilience that I focus on in my Resilience Edge framework (I expand on each of the six pillars in this previous newsletter).

Sometimes when we’re faced with a new challenge we can feel unsure, overwhelmed or stuck due to worrying about not having all the answers or a perfect roadmap for the problem at hand. But we don’t always have to know exactly what our next move is going to be - nobody knows how to deal with every obstacle that comes their way. What’s important is believing in ourselves and our ability to find a solution. Maybe we need to do some research, focus on continual development in a specific area, or ask for guidance from a mentor, colleague, friend or family member. This is called resourcefulness - building a network around us that helps us figure out what to do - and it’s something that entrepreneurs do really well. 

Tip 1:

Jot down 5 things that you accomplished this week, big or small. Then note how likely it is, on a scale of 0-100%, that you’d be able to repeat each again if you had to. Also, think of a few ways you can boost your self-belief over time. It could be taking a course in an area you feel less confident in, or writing down all positive feedback you receive to focus on when you’re feeling low. Ultimately, it’s about reducing the pressure you put on yourself to feel like you should have all the answers, all the time.

Restore

Judging when to take control to direct our destiny and when to let go of what we can’t control is another important part of resilience.

When we feel like we’re not in control of our environment, we can begin to experience feelings of helplessness, and as though there’s no point in taking any action at all. Psychologists have identified this as a trap that stops people from making changes. However, although we don’t want to feel helpless, we also shouldn’t be trying to control everything around us - it’s about landing somewhere in the middle. This judgment is a skill you can build over time. 

Tip 2:

Write an intention for yourself, something you want to achieve, complete or do. This could be something big and long-term, like being more proactive at work or something more immediate, like completing a project. Then write down all the action steps needed for you to make this intention happen. Finally, note three things you can do today to make a start. Doing this will make you feel like you are more in control of where things are going, and like you’re taking action to get there. If you aren’t able to finish your three things by the end of the day, don’t worry too much - things knock us off course and that’s OK. Instead, think about what you can learn from the day instead; maybe you just need some extra time or maybe you need to re-evaluate activities to make this intention a priority.

Reset

Our perspective and view of the world will dictate how we experience events and how we behave in different situations. Looking at the growth opportunities that are born out of difficult situations focuses our attention on hope and optimism, which research has shown supports the developing resilience. 

We are currently facing unprecedented change outside of our control; many of us have been navigating stress and uncertainty in a way we never have before. In times like these, it’s good to remember that challenge can bring with it the opportunity for growth. It’s not about completely ignoring the negatives - some things will be painful or difficult and we can’t remove feelings like grief. Rather it’s about looking back and considering whether there’s something we can take away from a challenging experience to feel more positive about the future. 

(As a note: it’s important that if you are experiencing overwhelming feelings of sadness, anxiety, or fear, you speak to a mental health professional who can provide invaluable guidance and support - Mind is a charity that can help with this in the UK).

Tip 3:

Expressing gratitude is a very simple exercise you can do to put this into practice. Write down three things you are grateful for right now. It could be as simple as the sun shining and having had a great conversation with a friend, or it could be something bigger like the health of your family. This is a great habit to get into, as it shifts our thinking from what is wrong in our world, to what is actually right - which in turn boosts our ability to deal with difficulties.

These exercises are taken from the "10 Days of Resilience" programme, which is completely free to join and provides access to ten resilience-boosting strategies.

Building resilience over the long-term

The most important aspect of enhancing our resilience is applying strategies to our real lives. Facing challenges, navigating change, and combining learning with experience and practice is what will make us more resilient in the long term. 

The "10 Days of Resilience" coaching programme has been designed to help you test and explore resilience-boosting tools and practices, giving you a ‘how-to’ guide to implementing resilience techniques in your life. This programme is completely free to access (and always will be), and has been designed as a tool to help everyone build resilience - removing some of the barriers associated with expensive coaching programmes. 

Your resilience in 2021

How has your resilience changed over the last year? And what are your tips for navigating change and challenges?

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Check out my coaching videos on Instagram: @gemma.leigh.roberts