Many in life have been knocked down repeatedly by
various trials. Some have had to learn very early on in life how to fight, and
some have never learned to get back up from the punches in life. For someone
who has been under pressure, stress, trauma, and different crisis’ in their
lives, developing resilience is key for maintaining and keeping good mental,
physical and spiritual health.
→Without resilience, one breaks under
pressure instead of just gently bending.
→What
is resilience? The capacity to recover quickly from
difficulties. You can bounce back swiftly after stress or difficulty in your
life.
Research
shows that the amount of resilience a person possesses is a greater factor for determining
success in life rather than your IQ. Some people have a
natural tendency towards resilience, while others are bent more towards
emotional reactions including being overwhelmed by difficulties in life. I
believe some resilience is part of our DNA, but I also believe some resilience
is learned by your environment or by the people who raised you. Take for
instance, if you were raised with an overly emotional mother whose first
reaction to problems was to show negative emotions and you never saw how she
overcame her difficulties; chances are a part of what you perceived became
ingrained in you. The good news is you
can learn how to become resilient. Learning to become resilient starts with
your thoughts, and renewing your mind to believe what God says in His word
about you. If your thoughts are
negative, it is probable you are not a resilient person.
Would
you consider yourself a resilient person? Why or why not? What traits did your
caretakers show you that helped or hindered your resiliency?
Resilient
people…
→Resilient
people are able to cope with problems and setbacks. Those that lack resilience
become overwhelmed when distressing situations occur, tend to focus on the
problem, use unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with life’s challenges, and are
slower to recover from setbacks
→Resilient people don’t live life in denial, but they
understand that setbacks occur and that life can be painful sometimes.
→Resilient people do not remain focused on the
negative, and disengage rapidly from problems that appear unsolvable. A key to resilience is to know when to “cut
your losses,” and move on to problems that are solvable.
→Resilient people still mourn losses and experience
grief, but they can find redeeming potential in most situations. When non-resilient
people face difficulties all of their emotions turn negative. If things are good,
the non-resilient person is good, but if things are bad, they feel bad.
→Resilient people can find the silver lining in almost
any adverse circumstance. Resilient
people will find, seek, and search for the good in their challenges.
→Resilient people are grateful people and are always
counting their blessings. They might say, “I am sad that this happened but I am
blessed about this.”
→Resilient
people are not victims and don’t wallow in self-pity.
→Resilient people are overcomers, whether it is their
childhood wounds or current painful situations.
→Resilient people are hopeful. They are hopeful
brighter days are ahead and they trust God will use their pain for His
purposes.
→Resilient people take good care of themselves such as
with exercise, eating healthy, and maintaining a healthy support system.
→Resilient people do not focus on their problems, but
focus on what is right in their lives.
→Resilient
people are not whiners and complainers. They don’t tell their problems
repeatedly to others to gain pity.
→Resilient people are fighters, they don’t back down
and they never give up! When they get
temporarily knocked down, they come back up stronger.
→Resilient people move forward, they don’t keep
looking back in the past in regret and they don’t project what may happen in
the future.
