Life is full of challenges and stressors. Sometimes it feels like all you can do is lay in bed with a bag of chips and watch bad Lifetime movies while trying to console yourself with thoughts like “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” However, there are ways you can build up your resilience so that you bounce back from difficult situations and challenges more easily. Here are 18 suggestions:
Self-compassion is the ability to be kind and gentle with yourself in difficult moments. It’s about understanding that you are not alone, and that you are worthy of love even when things aren’t going well. Self-compassion doesn’t mean giving up on goals or being passive when it comes to change; rather, it means making room for imperfection so that we can learn from our mistakes without beating ourselves up over them. The best way to build your resilience is by practicing self-compassion every day. Be aware of how often you criticize yourself or put yourself down (e.g., “I’m stupid” or “I always mess up”). Notice what happens in your body when these thoughts arise–do they make your chest tight? Do they make it harder for you breathe? Are there other emotions besides anger present? If so, try writing down those feelings on paper using an emotion map (see below). Then work toward letting go of those negative thoughts by replacing them with positive ones instead! For example: “You’ve made mistakes before and learned from them; now it’s time again.” Or maybe even just something like “It’s okay if I don’t know everything yet.”
Rest and recovery are important for everyone, but especially for people who work hard. If you’re tired all the time, it’s easy to ignore your body’s signals and not get enough sleep or rest. But if you do this for too long, it can have serious consequences on your health–and on your resilience. The best way to get the most out of rest is by taking regular breaks throughout the day: take a walk around the office floor or find somewhere quiet where no one will disturb you; go out into nature if possible (even just sitting outside with some fresh air will help). Use these breaks as an opportunity to recharge yourself so that when something stressful comes up later in the day, or even weeks after this first break has occurred – which it inevitably will – then at least part of what makes us feel overwhelmed at times like these has already been dealt with through our earlier efforts at self-care!
It’s important to give yourself time to process your feelings. It’s not uncommon for people who are grieving to have ups and downs, so don’t rush through a grieving process. If you find yourself feeling sad or depressed, try focusing on the positive things in your life that bring you joy.
One of the most important things you can do to build your resilience is to stop blaming yourself for things that are beyond your control. It’s easy to feel like we have a lot of power over other people, but the truth is that we don’t. We can’t make someone else happy or sad, angry or calm, mean or nice–and those feelings aren’t ours either! If someone else does something that hurts you, it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with how hard (or not) they worked on their relationship with you–it just means they made some choices that hurt both of you in different ways. You’re not responsible for anyone else’s actions except for yours: focus on what matters most when making decisions about how best to handle these relationships going forward. Building resilience is important so that you can bounce back from difficult situations and challenges There are a few things that you can’t control, and it’s important to be aware of them. You can’t control the past. You can’t predict the future. You can’t change other people’s behavior or thoughts, only your own!
The more you practice these resilience-boosting strategies, the better you’ll feel. And if you can find ways to make them a regular part of your life, that’s even better! So get started today by making one small change that will help build your resilience muscle–whether it’s taking a short walk outside or practicing self-compassion when things don’t go as planned.
