With each challenge, they emerge wiser and stronger?
These women are resilient.
Resilience looks like the woman who loses her job but polishes her resume and starts seeking career opportunities.
Resilience looks like doing the best you can, even when coronavirus has disrupted your daily life.
Resilience is showing up for yourself every day, even when it feels like you’re carrying the world on your shoulders.
You don’t need a suit and cape to conquer your challenges.
Resilience can be your superpower. And I’m going to show you how to be more resilient when you’re feeling overwhelmed with life.
What is the Meaning of Resilience?
Psychology Today defines resilience as “the psychological quality that allows some people to be knocked down by the adversities of life and come back at least as strong as before.”
Resilience is choosing to move forward instead of giving up.
Embracing optimism over pessimism.
And understanding that each struggle is temporary and you have the power to create positive change in your life.
What Resilience Isn’t
Being Emotionless
Even resilient people undergo emotional turmoil during tragedy. The difference between those who are resilient and those who aren’t is how they cope.
Something You’re Born With
Some are born with greater resilience than others — like athleticism or your IQ.
But that “level” isn’t set in stone.
Like training a muscle, your resilience grows with each challenge you overcome.
This is good news for you. Even if you have low resilience now, it’s something you can work on. The following tips will help you build resilience in the face of adversity:
5 Tips on How to Be More Resilient and Emerge from Adversity Stronger than Ever
#1 Build Your Support System
Different events can trigger emotional trauma — divorce, losing a loved one, even moving into a different home.
And trauma isn’t something you can necessarily weather alone.
Building resilience is also about learning when to ask for help. Sometimes you need to rely on compassionate friends and family who will support you.
You may also want to join a specific group. Stanford Medicine shares how “being active in civic groups, faith-based organizations, or other local groups provides social support and can help with reclaiming hope.”
#2 Cultivate Healthy Outlets
Some women resort to unhealthy outlets when coping with adversity. It looks different for each woman — substance dependency, compulsive spending, and overeating, to name a few.
That’s why it’s helpful to build habits that will support you during difficult times. Healthier habits include:
- Exercising regularly
- Prioritizing quiet alone time for yourself
- Cooking nutritious meals for your body
- Engaging in a creative hobby
- Spending quality time with family members
These positive outlets will give your body the resources it needs to cope with stress more productively.
#3 Find the Lesson
Why is this happening to me?
What did I do to deserve this?
These thoughts probably have passed your mind when misfortune falls in your lap. You might feel betrayed. You might even curse at your Higher Power.
Sometimes, tragic events are inexplicable. Yet, it’s up to you to find the meaning in them.
If you recently lost your job, what lesson can you find in that? Maybe it’s an opportunity to connect more with yourself and priorities.
What meaning can you find in the passing of a loved one? Perhaps it’s a reminder of your own mortality and the precious value of time.
How about recent events?
What can we learn from the coronavirus outbreak? There are reports of pollution reduction around the world. Maybe coronavirus is offering us a glance into what a healthier planet would look like.
Finding the lesson helps you build resilience. It encourages you to change how you view adversity:
- You can let adversity defeat you.
- Or you can let adversity teach you.
Have you recently experienced a setback? What lesson did you find in it? Share your discovery with me in the comments below.
#4 Take Just One Step
When you’re stuck in your problems, there are days when you don’t want to do anything.
Believe me, I know.
There were days when I didn’t want to get out of bed because I was so overwhelmed by stress and fatigue.
Yet all you need is one small change to shift the course of your life.
For me, that was transitioning into a growth mindset — that I wasn’t helpless to the forces around me and there are things in my life that I can influence.
And your next step doesn’t need to be that big.
It could be as small as getting out of bed. Or perhaps it’s giving yourself just five minutes to sit in silence.
Set your own pace.
Confucius once said, “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
Start with finding your single next step… and then taking it.
Resilience isn’t as much about how fast you bounce back — it’s more about your ability to adapt and move forward.
#5 Seek Additional Support
For some, the above tips are enough to build their resilience.
Others might need a little more support.
Perhaps that’s you.
I had my own life coach to help me overcome overwhelm and break free from burnout. I’m here to be that for you, as well.
If you’re suffering from overwhelm and want to thrive again, sign up for a complimentary “Overcoming Overwhelm” Discovery session with me.
In this 60-minute consultation you’ll:
- Reveal a clear and compelling vision of what else is possible for your life when you no longer have so much on your plate and are enjoying your life again
- Get simple and practical tips for how to break free from your symptoms of overwhelm.
- Tap into greater energy and inspiration
- Explore how having a partner on your journey will provide a shortcut to all that you desire.
Click here now to sign up for a complimentary “Overcoming Overwhelm” Discovery session.
Hi, I’m Dr. Whitney
