RESILIENCE: THE NEW GENIUS

Resilience stands on the way of obstacles and shoves them aside - whether actually or proverbially.        

Resilience always wins.

Why?

Because it persists.

Resilience stands on the way of obstacles and shoves them aside - whether actually or proverbially.

The people who manage to finish what they start are undoubtedly resilient.

They know how to apply coping and adaptation in diverse situations and emerge triumphant on the other side.

They've learnt how to use circumstances (even if the odds are stacked against them) to their advantage.

But cultivating resilience doesn't come easy.

It's important to bear the following in mind:

1. PURPOSE

At times, the word purpose is confusing because of the way it's portrayed...as a destination.

For the most part, many writers and commentators seem to equate purpose to a place where we arrive before starting off on a journey to meeting our goals.

But I believe otherwise.

For some of us purpose is indeed a destination we arrive at after understanding what we're all about.

But for many of us (myself included) finding our purpose is possibly a life long journey.

At times situations beyond our control bring out the best in us sending us flying towards our purpose.

On the other hand, maybe our purpose is defined by the ordinary things we do everyday in an extraordinary way.

The bottom line is, seek to discover your purpose in life or seek to be a seeker of your purpose.

If you can place a finger on it, well and good.

If you can't, keep it somewhere in your mind as you engage with life.

Assess the situations around your life and seek to find your purpose through them.

Look out for problems people are going through around you and commit to solve one or two.

Roll up your sleeves and seek after your purpose.

2. GOALS

Goals give us a sense of direction.

Just imagine a soccer game where the competing teams can't identify each other's goals.

It would simply be chaotic.

The same for our lives.

Do I have a target?

What do I want to do?

Where to I want to be after 5, 6, 10 years?

Goals enable us to 'drop a pin' on the GPRS location we intend to arrive at.

Once we do that we can then find out the best way to get to that destination.

Goals need not be complex.

But they need to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time- dependent.

They need to be SMART goals.

3. SYSTEMS

After we set our goals, how do we plan to achieve them?

For a moment, I debated on substituting the word 'systems' with 'game plan'.

But I was a bit reluctant because it would water down life to being just a game of setting goals and achieving them.

Though this is an integral part of life, humans are complex creatures.

We thrive not only in achieving our goals but by building support systems around us that let us thrive...social systems, family, work life balance etc.

These systems support us; they lend us a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on, people to laugh with.

But most of all, they make us human.

We realize that life is not all about attaining goals but serving people because support systems around us are composed of people.

Yes, we do have our game plan on achieving our goals.

But what are the supporting social systems that carry us through to the end?

4. MAKE MISTAKES

Resilient people don't fear making mistakes.

They know that a mistake is a new opportunity to learn.

Infact mistakes form a very formidable learning classroom (if we choose to pick up lessons learnt).

This is how innovators build superior products...

This is how service providers design smooth processes for their clientele...

This is how drug discoveries are made...

This is how solutions are arrived at...by people trying and failing but choosing to learn lessons and move forward.

Resilient people are not afraid of trying because they know that they possess an advantage over others who've not.

As they try, they already know that they're on a growth curve and the only direction of movement is upwards.

But they also keep two secrets:

(1) They are single minded and focus on one thing and;

(2) They know when to stop trying.

They are well prepared to hit the dead end because they have an exit strategy.

They are aware of the risk of loss but attach a higher premium to the lessons learnt.

This is by far what seems to separate resilient people from those who're not.

Resilience is a skill all of us can cultivate through discipline and having a paradigm shift.

But we can't force ourselves to be resilient.

We must appreciate the benefits that it brings our way for us to want to get it no matter what.

If we truly value it, we'll go after it.

Originally posted on Clean Innovations Blog