How to Build Resilience in Challenging Times

What is Resilience?

Resilience Definition

Resilience is the quality that enables individuals to bounce back from adversity, adapt to challenges, and maintain their emotional well-being in challenging times. It’s the ability to withstand difficult situations, learn from experiences, and grow stronger as a result. Contrary to what some may believe, being resilient doesn’t mean that you’re immune to hardships– it just shows that you have the tools to healthily overcome them. Resilience involves developing coping mechanisms, problem-solving skills, and a positive outlook to help you to navigate adversity with greater ease. 

Remember that anyone can be resilient. Resilience doesn’t just reside in the TV show or movie characters who become extraordinary or notable heroes. Anyone who experiences stress, setbacks, or difficult emotions and chooses to rise again has resilience in their system.

Resilient people develop a sense of purpose, strong social connections, and a belief in their ability to influence outcomes. They view setbacks as opportunities for growth rather than insurmountable obstacles.

Ultimately, resilience empowers individuals to face life’s challenges with courage, optimism, and a sense of inner strength.

Benefits of Resilience

You may wonder why is resilience important to foster. Resilience has been shown to improve well-being, reduce depression, and positively influence work satisfaction. Let’s explore some of these benefits:

Improved Mental Health

Resilience contributes to better mental health outcomes, reducing the risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. Through effective coping strategies and a positive mindset, resilient individuals are better equipped to navigate life’s ups and downs.

Enhanced Physical Health

The connection between mental resilience and physical health is undeniable. Resilient individuals often maintain a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and adequate sleep. All of those factors contribute to a person’s overall well-being.

Strengthened Relationships

Building resilience also has a profound impact on personal relationships. Resilient individuals tend to establish and maintain supportive relationships, creating a strong network of friends and family that contribute to their resilience.

Greater Life Satisfaction

Ultimately, resilience leads to a greater sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in life. Embracing challenges, learning from failure, and maintaining a growth mindset contribute to a life well-lived, full of meaningful experiences and personal growth.

How to Build Resilience in Challenging Times

The resilience framework involves developing mental and emotional strength to effectively cope with challenges. Learning how to build resilience in challenging times is an ongoing process. With the help of resilience training, you can develop resilience strategies and apply them to various situations. Here are some ways to build resilience in challenging times:

1. Regulate Emotions to Stay Calm

First of all, it is important to manage your emotions by staying rational and reflecting on what has happened. Self-reflection is one of the pillars of resilience. By doing so, you can better understand your strengths, weaknesses, and emotional triggers, particularly during crisis. As a result, you will be able to recognize your reactions to stress/adversity, and work on managing them constructively.

Acknowledging and working through your emotions can be very healing in challenging points of life. Indeed learning to regulate your emotions better can help you build resilience in these times. One way to do so is through cognitive reappraisal, a process of altering the way you think about or perceive a situation. It is an important technique to decrease the intensity of emotions. Reframing a situation can be a helpful way to accept or deal with a distressing event in a healthier manner. For instance, if someone is rude to you, your initial thought may be that it is due to your unpopularity or unlikable nature. However, you can reframe this situation by considering that the person might be going through a difficult phase and their behavior towards you is only a result of their unhappiness. The aim of this process is to reduce negative emotions one may experience.

To learn more about regulating your emotions, read our article here.

2. Reflect and Reframe your Thoughts

Unfortunately, dark moments could lead to difficult emotions as well as negative thoughts. Therefore, developing a resilient mindset is crucial in navigating life’s challenges effectively. A resilient mindset involves maintaining a positive outlook, embracing change, and viewing obstacles as opportunities for growth. It’s about cultivating emotional intelligence and the mental toughness to persevere in the face of adversity. 

One resilience skill is to reframe the “distorted thinking”. Typical cognitive distortions, for example, include emotional reasoning, jumping to a conclusion, black-or-white thinking, and all-or-nothing thinking. In cognitive behavioral therapy, thought reframing helps identify thoughts from facts, challenge the irrational thoughts with evidence, and come up with rational ones.

Example 1: Stressful Situations

• Negative thought: “This situation is too stressful. I can’t handle it.”
• Reframe: “This situation is challenging, but it’s an opportunity to develop my stress management skills and resilience. I’ve handled difficult situations before, and I can do it again.”

Example 2: Comparing to Others

• Negative thought: “Everyone seems to be doing better than me. I must be doing something wrong.”
• Reframe: “Everyone’s journey is different. Instead of comparing, I can focus on my path and what I can do to improve my situation.”

3. Reach out to your Support System

A social support system is essential to a happy and healthy life for most people. Even if you just have one friend you feel understands you, it can make a world of difference in your life. Strong social connections provide emotional support and a sense of belonging. In order to build resilience, try and nurture relationships with friends, family, and colleagues who can provide guidance and comfort during tough times.

Cultivating social connections – and avoiding social isolation – is one of the best ways to build resilience… so get connected! Building strong, positive relationships with loved ones and friends can provide you with needed support, guidance and acceptance in good and bad times.

Lean on Loved Ones

In personal crises, having loved ones’ support can help you navigate grief and find solace. Some people are resistant to asking for help or leaning on support. They fear they will be a bother or burden to people. 

Remember that you, just as much as anyone else, deserves to be supported by those you love. What is the meaning of friendship or family if it is not to be there when times get tough? Also, don’t underestimate how much the people who care about you want to help you– the true relationships in your life want to be there to comfort you in challenging times, you just have to learn to let them in.

Join a Support Group

When going through things like immense loss or a painful breakup, joining a support group can be very helpful in building resilience. Simply put, a support group provides a place where people can share personal stories, express emotions, and be heard. That is, support groups foster an atmosphere of acceptance, understanding, and encouragement. Together, group members learn to solve problems and cope with various issues in life. Without a doubt, healing and growth happens when a group of people come together and share with each other. 

4. Prioritize Self-Care

Taking care of your physical and mental health is crucial for building resilience.  Better self-care also means being kind to yourself. It could help with how you feel in different situations. Specifically, prioritize self-care activities, such as exercise, proper nutrition, adequate sleep, and relaxation techniques. Remember to schedule breaks in your daily routine for things you enjoy. Also, try not to be too hard on yourself when something goes wrong and lean on others. Especially in high-stress situations, like caregiving for a loved one, self-care can help you maintain your well-being.

5. Practice Gratitude

When learning how to build resilience in challenging times, try to focus on some of the good things in your life. Gratitude should first goes to yourself. Practicing gratitude could mean appreciating all you have in your life. When facing setbacks or failures, gratitude can help you embrace what you have and see opportunities for future growth.

In fact, gratefulness can promote feelings of positivity in people’s lives. When people with high levels of gratitude reflect on the past, they were found to experience greater satisfaction and fulfillment in life. Besides, research has shown that gratitude can not only prompt feelings of happiness but help to lower depressive emotions, common in those going through challenging times.

6. Set Goals to Better Yourself 

Oftentimes, when we make mistakes or fail in life, we feel embarrassed or shameful. Remember that growth can come from these moments in our lives. Try to learn from your mistakes and failures, instead of dwelling on them. Evaluate potentially what went wrong, take note of what you can do differently, and make plans to act differently moving forward.

As mentioned before, try and approach problems with a flexible mindset and explore multiple solutions. For example, In a rapidly changing job market, adaptability and problem-solving skills can help you transition to new career opportunities. 

If you are struggling to find a job, your efforts may need to be revamped! Consider asking for a friend to review your resume or cover letter and see if there is anything you can improve. There are also many other resources you can turn to where a professional can review your supplies and give career counseling. Many colleges offer these resources for free to their students and alumnae. 

How to Build Resilience at Work? 

Here are some useful articles we’ve published that can help you with work-related issues:

• Ways to Improve Communication at work
• Workplace Burnout: Signs and Ways to Cope
• How to Stop Feeling Like a Failure
• Advice for Former Students Entering the Workforce

At work, try and break down large goals into smaller, manageable steps. Also, celebrate your achievements along the way. This can boost your confidence and motivation. When pursuing a long-term project, setting realistic goals can prevent burnout and keep you on track. Research shows that achieving goals help boost life satisfaction.