You can learn to be resilient

In a rapidly changing world, resilience is a survival skill; don’t leave home without it.

Resilience, at its most generic, is defined as the ability to handle adversity, “the ability to adapt to changing circumstances even when the circumstances are discouraging or disruptive.”  

Behind this capacity to bounce back from whatever the fates throw at you is a blend of emotional and psychological resources. Resilient people are highly resourceful, for example. They are innovative, independent and tend to view problems and difficulties as challenges. They’re persistent, and generally find ways to move ahead even in times of upheaval and change.

Although some people seem to be more naturally resilient than others there’s dawning recognition that resilience can be learned and cultivated. No less an institution than the United States Army has decided to put this assumption to the test.

Concerned about the stress of combat duty and military life, the US Army has initiated a program to offer resiliency training to over a million soldiers and their families to help them learn to cope with the strain of repeated conflicts.

Army brass commissioned Dr. Martin Seligman, a well-known author of books such as Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness, to craft the army’s resiliency training program. A professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Seligman is also the founder of the so-called “positive psychology” movement, which incorporates the study of positive character traits, emotions and even positive institutions.

Workplace turbulence can’t be compared to combat duty, of course. Yet a few progressive employers are considering resiliency training for staff, in part because it’s in their vested interest to do so. Stress levels are high in a pressurized and demanding workplace; morale is at an all time low. And workplace health experts tally the annual cost of workplace stress and resultant mental health problems in the billions of dollars.

Learning to be resilient, Seligman believes, is a matter of consciously building psychological coping skills. Changing your thinking patterns, for example, maximizing your strengths and taking confidence in your intrinsic worth. All this is based on an understanding that as an individual you can’t control circumstances or the actions of others but you can still control how you respond.

To begin the process, when change or adversity arrive at your doorstep:

• Be pragmatic. Try to keep your emotions in check. Take a step back and objectively review the situation and its implications. Dealing with feeling of loss may take some time, but try to move through this to develop a realistic plan of action.

• Reach out. Talk to people who’ve been through similar situations. Ask how they handled it, how they coped, what they learned.

• Dare to Dream. No matter how dire a situation may seem there are always possibilities. Try to shift your focus; instead of thinking about what’s has passed, imagine the new opportunities that lie ahead.

 
Building a resilient nature begins with a clear understanding of your own psychology and inner resources. There are several free self-assessment exercises on Dr. Seligman’s website at www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/. By registering on the site you can take advantage of them. If you wish, you can even become involved in some of his research projects.