Resilience – It’s the buzz word we hear so much, but what does it actually mean to be a resilient person? Can you learn how to become resilient?
Absolutely you can!

Today I will share my personal insight and some researched advice on what it takes to bounce back to a positive state of emotional wellbeing from the setbacks that we are all bound to face during our life.
I am often told by others just how resilient I am.
Believe me, I was not born a resilient person.
There have been several major life events when I had the opportunity to sink or swim, and I chose to find the positives to help me navigate through the hard times.
Through adversity and challenges you become resilient.

All of the hard times over the years have a purpose.

I never pictured myself as the mother of a child with a disability, until it was thrust upon me the day my first child was born. I was plunged into a complex world of specialist appointments, a future of life long therapy, meetings with geneticists, but above all – the beauty of advocacy.
Through this experience I did something that many resilient people do. I found myself focusing all my energy on the things that I could change and accepting the things that I couldn’t. The love I have for my now 11-year-old child, is like no other and I am so incredibly thankful that she has made me become the person that I am today.
We then faced the crippling world of infertility and it took us another 9 years to have a second child.  This thrusted me into a world of pain and suffering, but resilience forced me to tune into the things in my life that I was grateful for, rather than focus on the things that were missing.

Resilience taught me how to navigate the tough times in life, knowing that with persistence (and a lot of medical research!) good times lay ahead.
Through these challenges I have developed many skills that contribute to being a resilient person and I now apply these to all aspects of my life.
I understand and accept that our life path often moves us in a different direction to something that we never anticipated or wanted.
I speak to many people who are feeling deflated through job seeking or experiences in the workplace, and I encourage them to practice resilience.

But how do you learn to be resilient?

Research has shown us that:

  • Resilient people think and act a certain way that enables them to face the challenges that life will inevitably throw their way. Life is not perfect. Resilient people seem to know and expect that tough times will happen in life. They focus their energy on the things that they can control and understand that they can get through the tough times.
  • Resilient people understand that they need to face failures and challenges to cultivate resilience. They face their stressors rather than avoid them, learn from their mistakes and rebound from failures.
  • Resilient people think about their actions. They question if what they are doing is helping or harming them. Too often we have toxic things in our life that are actually harming us. Next time you are focusing your energy on a negative situation, stop for a second to think if your actions are helping or harming you. This allows you to take back control over your decision making.

Everybody is facing their own challenges and sometimes people are fighting a secret battle.
But remember, you have the power to control how you react to situations in life.
Next time you are facing a challenge, I encourage you to practice gratitude and build resilience.

‘A person who fell and got back up is much stronger than the person who never fell.’

 

 

Disclaimer: The material contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It is not, nor is intended to be, legal advice. If you wish to act based on the content of this publication, we recommend that you seek professional advice.

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