Resilience and Your Health by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

Over the past few weeks, I’ve talked about resilience and the many benefits it can have toward reaching your goals. All of those benefits make developing resilience worthwhile. However, there other benefits, such as improved health, that can give you additional incentive to work toward resilience.

One of the primary causes of health issues among the working age population is stress. It leads to high blood pressure, and can even contribute to heart disease and cancer. And, if the stress is not enough to kill you, the bad habits you pick up to relieve that stress are. Stress leads to smoking, overeating and alcohol abuse for many.

Resilient people are better able to deal with stress. This is primarily because they have a positive attitude about life’s ups and downs. In addition, they have a vision about their future that sustains them when there are obstacles to overcome. This means they are likely to dwell less on life’s stressors, focusing on solutions to their problems, instead.

In addition, resilient people understand that obstacles will come, and are better prepared to deal with these as a result. This often means they use healthier mechanisms for dealing with their stress. Simply put, a resilient person is likelier to exercise to relieve stress than to smoke or drink to relieve it. Resilient people know they have to stay on top of their game, and they work hard not to succumb to habits that might prove to slow them down. In addition, resilient people are less likely to focus on little aches and pains, choosing to focus on feeling good, rather than feeling bad.

Resilience can be learned. It starts with a strong desire to reach a goal, including the tenacity and persistence to keep going even under dire circumstances. And the results show that those with resilience are not only more likely to reach their goals, but they are also more likely to get there feeling good and keeping their health.