Develop Your Resilience – Toughen Up to Succeed in Business and Life

Have you ever been down in the dumps, questioned your life’s purpose, or failed at something and subsequently asked yourself, “Where do I go from here?” We all reach periods in our life that challenge our very being and force us to take actions that are difficult and even frightening. Choosing to take those daunting actions will forever solidify the nature of your character, your self-acceptance, and your self-respect. The unknown crossroads we all encounter bring forth life lessons that pave the way for our future, happiness, and fulfillment. They present us with turning points or forks in the road; the ultimate decision of which path to take will contribute to what your life will become. Those actions will also formulate the answer to the question, “What will you be remembered for?” The behavioral attribute and resource to harness the strength to be decisive and eventually persevere through uncertainty is individual resilience. Resilience is defined as “able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions; able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed.” Resilience will triumph over self-doubt, failure, and a lack of self-respect every time. Resilience fuels perseverance, which accelerates the journey to success. A solid level of resilience rests in the core values you believe in, but most important, it is acting on and living a life reflective of those core values. Acting on your core values resiliently promotes every other characteristic of success, including integrity, personal honesty, accountability, self-respect, attitude, professionalism, humility, and empathy to name a few. A saying attributed to the Chinese Philosopher Chuang Tzu states, “Heaven is internal, humanity exte al, and virtue comes from the heavenly. Know heaven and humanity’s actions; root yourself in heaven and follow virtue. Then you can bend, stretch, rush forward, or hold back, because you will always return to the core and it will be said you have achieved the supreme.” Rewards of Resiliency Recognizing the interdependency of the many principles of success resulting from your resiliency will provide you with a blueprint for self-understanding and achievement. You are the architect of your life’s design and the construction manager of its progress. The rewards for being resilient include learning from the struggle, adding a new life experience, reflecting with a different perspective, and gaining a greater appreciation for what you have. The birth of resilient behavior stems from our upbringing and the parental and environmental influences we experienced. It is widely accepted that growing up around resilient individuals strengthens a person’s resiliency. Most important, we all have the ability to be resilient by practicing the core values we believe in. It is bouncing back from failure and disappointment that puts the spring in our step because it provides self-confidence to carry on. The American Psychological Association suggests that “10 Ways to Build Resilience” are: • Maintain good relationships with close family members, friends, and others. • Avoid seeing crises or stressful events as unbearable problems. • Accept circumstances that cannot be changed. • Develop realistic goals and move toward them. • Take decisive action in adverse situations. • Look for opportunities of self-discovery after a struggle with loss. • Develop self-confidence. • Keep a long-term perspective and consider the stressful events in a broader context. • Maintain a hopeful outlook, expecting good things and visualizing what is wished. • Take care of one’s mind and body, exercising regularly, paying attention to one’s own needs and feelings, and engaging in relaxing activities that one enjoys. Additionally, believe you have the ability to be resilient and pursue the dreams you wish for. I genuinely believe everyone wants to be the best they possibly can be in all facets of life. We have all made mistake and we will make others along our life’s journey, but as Friedrich Nietzsche so simply stated, “That which does not destroy, strengthens.” Enjoy the strength in being you.