How to build resilience

Resilience is the ability to overcome challenges, adapt, and keep going after something difficult has happened in your life.

Resilience is not a fixed trait – it is something that is constantly learned and developed.

Why is resilience important?

Resilience is important because it helps us get back on our feet when life gets hard.

It helps to make us stronger than we were before the conflict occurred.

Factors that make up resilience

• Having healthy and supportive relationships with friends and family
• Having a positive outlook on yourself and your capabilities
• Having good communication and problem-solving skills
• Having the skills to effectively deal with strong emotions

What are some ways to build up resilience?

There are a few things you can do to help build up your resilience:

Friends and family

Surround yourself with caring friends and family – psychologists say that surrounding yourself with people who will listen to you and support you is the most important way to build up resilience.

Accepting challenges and change

Try to look at the bigger picture and the long-term perspective during difficult times. This will help make sure that you don’t blow the challenges you are going through out of proportion.

Sometimes after we face challenges, some goals will no longer be achievable. In these circumstances, it is important to keep moving forward and create new goals that you aspire to achieve.

Optimism

Optimistic attitudes are great to have because it helps you to focus on the good that will happen in the future instead of worrying about the fears you have for the future.

Taking care of yourself physically and mentally

It is always important to take care of your mental and physical health during and after adversities. If you are not mentally and/or physically healthy, it can make facing challenges much harder than it needs to be.

Reflect on events from the past

Take time to look at difficult events that have happened in your past and see how you addressed them. Then, specifically look at the strategies that you used that were effective and try to apply those in future arduous situations.

Know that everyone is different

Keep in mind that everyone deals with adversities in different ways. So what might work for someone else might not be the best option for you.  

Although not everyone deals with difficult times in the same way, remember that resilience is always important in helping you overcome the challenges you face.  

Everyone is capable of being resilient because it involves behaviors and thoughts that can be learned and developed by anyone. Take time to think about the strategies that work best for you to help build your resilience, and remember that building resilience is a continuous process.