Resilience – a new trendy word of our time. But what exactly does it mean to be resilient? Resilience is often associated with the image of a skipjack. But a high level of resilience goes hand in hand with more than the motto “straighten your crown and carry on” because resilience is not just the ability to overcome crises.
OVERCOMING CRISES
Speaking of crises – what are the events that cause our crown to slip?
The starting point for a crisis is often a critical life event. But this does not always have to be a negative event such as the loss of a loved one; it can also be a wedding or the birth of a child, i.e. a positive experience. What is crucial is that this critical event is accompanied by significant and drastic changes for us and our lives. When we are confronted with such changes it triggers stress in us and we have to cope with it.
The negative consequences – both on a physical and psychological level – that stress can trigger in the long term are now well known. But how serious these actually are for our health also depends on our resilience, i.e. our inner mental resistance. We can think of resilience as a kind of protective shield that enables us to survive crises unscathed.
If someone has a high level of resilience they will also draw something positive from a crisis and use it as an opportunity to grow, develop and be able to deal better with negative experiences in the future. In this context the recourse to personal and socially mediated resources plays an important role.
STRENGTHENING RESILIENCE
Sounds like a real superpower? It is! And the best thing about it is that you can train this superpower.
In addition to a genetic disposition, our experiences especially during childhood and adolescenc are also very decisive but unfortunately we can no longer change them. But here’s the good news: resilience can still be strengthened and changed in adulthood because resilience is dynamic and thus trainable even beyond our childhood and youth.
The model of the 7 pillars of resilience helps here:
- Pillar 1 – Acceptance: Be aware of the situation and recognise it as it is! Also accept negative feelings and reflect on the crisis. How bad is it actually? Put it in relation to others.
- 2nd pillar – solution orientation: Ask yourself the following question: “If I woke up tomorrow and my problem had disappeared into thin air – how would I notice that? What would be different?” Maybe you will come up with new ideas and solutions.
- Pillar 3 – Taking responsibility: Don’t pass on responsibility and don’t blame others. Instead, ask yourself where you can take responsibility. Start to shape your life yourself! Where can you already take responsibility today?
- 4th pillar – network orientation: Friends, family but also colleagues or neighbours can be a great support! Become aware of your social network and make use of it.
- Pillar 5 – Optimistic future orientation and goal setting: Set yourself concrete goals and make precise and realistic plans on how, when and where you want to achieve them. Start in small steps.
- Pillar 6 – Self-efficacy: Believe in yourself and your ability to successfully overcome a challenge!
- Pillar 7 – Positive self-perception: Reflect on yourself, your thoughts and feelings. Ask yourself what you like about yourself. What are your successes and your strengths? Keep a positive attitude because destructive thoughts are a real resilience killer and waste resources unnecessarily!
Maybe one or two of these tips will help you to recognise yourself as your own superhero and increase your resilience!