5 Tips for Everyday Resilience by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC
Big goals require big work. Reaching big goals requires a combination of persistence, hard work, and knowledge. One of the most important factors is maintaining the persistence needed to achieve your dreams is resilience. Resilience helps you bounce back when life throws a curve ball your way. Many people think resilience is something people are born with. While it’s true that some people are naturally more resilient than others, there are also things you can do to make it easier for you to get over the hurdles and bounce back from disappointments and stumbling blocks. Here are five things you can do to help you stay resilient.
1. Write down why you’re doing what you’re doing. There will inevitably be days when you question your decision to reach for a certain goal. The bigger and longer term that goal, the more of those days you’ll see. Whenever you begin to question your willingness to continue, you should be able to remind yourself quickly of the reason for the goal. Whether it’s a written document that outlines your desires, or simply a picture of your loved ones; keep something handy that reminds you of why your goal is so important.
2. Rest. Burnout does not create resilience. Taking a break from your work helps give you perspective and gives you much needed physical and mental rest.
3. Have a “think partner”. When you’re working toward a big goal, like building your own business, there will be times when you need to “think out loud” with someone and get another perspective on what’s going on. Having one or more “go to” people you can talk things out with will help you to keep things in check.
4. See failures as learning opportunities. You will have failures along the way. What will keep you moving forward is the ability to see those failures as opportunities to learn. Sometimes, learning what not to do is just as important as learning what you should do. Each time you try again, you’ll have a better chance of getting it right.
5. Celebrate your success. Don’t wait until you’ve achieved a big goal to celebrate. Celebrating those little successes along the way keeps you feeling energized about the long-term goal, and helps you to record your progress. When you can see movement in the right direction, staying focused is easier.
Resilience is a skill, and can be learned and improved. So, as you work toward those big goals in life, don’t forget to do the things that can help you stay focused and positive even when things don’t go as planned.