Have you ever noticed how some people seem to breeze through life, overcoming hurdles and obstacles with ease? These people never seem to show signs of stress or weakness, and appear to take everything in their stride. How do they do it? The answer is they are resilient. 

Of course, they face challenges just like we all do – but it is their mindset, and how they have learned to cope with challenges that make the difference. They have learned to deal with the challenges, learn from them, and spring forward, becoming a more resilient version of themselves.

Resilient people focus their energies on the things that they are in control of and can improve, and avoid wasting time dwelling on the things that they can’t change. It can be easy to get into a negative mindset in the face of adversity, and feel helpless about things going on around you that you feel powerless to control. In today’s workplace, where constant change occurs and regular restructures are the norm, workers can feel out of control and vulnerable. Developing resilience is key to a happier and more fulfilling career, where the inevitable setbacks can be seen as an opportunity to improve and grow.

Can resilience be learned, or is it innate? We all have a level of resilience, and I believe everyone has the capacity to develop it, learning to cope better and adapt well in the face of adversity or sudden unexpected events.

We live in a fast-paced world, a VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous – an acronym used by the US army). The pressures on the modern world, from economic and political uncertainties, to climate change and terrorism, mean resilience is key to survival, both from a business perspective and at an individual human level. Unfortunately these challenges are not going away any time soon, so we have to learn to cope better.

In Michael Neenan’s book, Developing Resilience – A Cognitive Behavioural Approach, he explains that it is not the actual event, but the meaning we place on it, and therefore how we react to it, that is key. As people interpret events in different ways, two people who experience exactly the same event may react in completely different ways. Those with resilience will learn from the event and spring forward faster, adapting their behaviour accordingly, and deploying effective coping mechanisms.

Perhaps more importantly, they will also take valuable learnings from the event that they can utilise in future. This ability to learn from an adverse event and make changes to be better prepared next time is what Judith Ronin calls the ‘Resilience Dividend’. It is the value we take from a difficult or unpleasant situation by applying learnings and putting measures in place so that next time it occurs we are better prepared. This can be applied both in the workplace and more broadly in our lives when we face something difficult, such as a breakdown of a relationship, job loss, or bereavement.

Developing resilience is like equipping yourself with an invisible suit of armour, protecting yourself from life’s hurdles, and giving you coping mechanisms so that instead of being crushed in the face of adversity you can harness it as an opportunity to improve.

As the famous inventor Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This demonstrates resilience – an ability to keep adapting in the face of adversity, and seeing setbacks not as failure but as opportunities to learn.

 If you’d like to develop your resilience, why not get in touch?