Everybody in life has some ups and downs. As we move further in life, from time to time, we all experience some obstacles, stress, setbacks, and life-changing situations. Resilience is a key that can help us respond to change positively and arise from difficult experiences more robust than ever. It takes practice and time to learn the art of resilience.
What is Resilience?
Resilience is an individual’s ability to adapt to life’s hardships and recover from trauma and difficulties. It helps us bounce back from hindrances and challenges, such as the loss of a job, a severe illness, a death of a loved one, a natural disaster, the end of a pet, etc.
Transforming yourself into a more resilient individual can empower us to:
- Meet the difficulties of life.
- Cope with hindrances, hardships, and challenges of life.
- Develop a sense of self-worth and freedom
- Have a sense of purpose in one’s life
- Have a set of goals for the future.
- Know when to seek support and assistance.
How to Differentiate?
Resilience won’t make your difficulties go away or shield you from trauma. But it can provide you the ability to manage stress and keep functioning, physically and mentally. Resilience is an achievable characteristic that anyone can learn and develop ways of thinking and acting to allow us to become more resilient.
So, resilience means having an inner calm to return to, even when things are not going as planned. Like most other skills, like mental skills, resilience can be consciously cultivated and developed. To develop strength, there are multiple ways, and among them, meditation is one of the most significant ways to learn resilience. Here are the 10 ways to build resilience.
10 Ways to Build Resilience
Resilience, willpower, and determination in life are the key elements that would let you grow and become productive life. Having said this, here are the 10 essential and proven ways with which you can work on building resilience in life while enhancing your life and taking situations in hand that let you become productive.
1. Develop and Sustain Strong Relationships
Strong relationships are vital to overcoming so many obstacles in life. To develop strong relationships, build connections with your family members, friends, neighbors, and people with whom you share mutual interests. Strong and healthy relationships provide social and emotional support and can make you feel better and connected to others. You don’t feel alone as your friends, and loved ones remind you that you’re not alone and can support you.
2. Change How You React to Situations
The way you react in different situations sometimes makes the situation better, or it can make it worse. While you can’t change conditions beyond your control—like a pandemic or a life-changing diagnosis—you can choose how you respond to challenging situations. Being decisive and active sometimes helps to break problems down into smaller and manageable pieces. If a task seems overwhelming, try to focus on one thing you can accomplish daily at a time. Taking the initiative and making a sincere promise can help you stay motivated and give you a sense of purpose during challenging and stressful times.
3. Turn obstacles into opportunities for growth
Sometimes, experiencing a rough patch in life reveals that you’re more vital than ever imagined. Resilience builds the ability to rise, avail new opportunities and learn different skills. Struggling with problems and overcoming obstacles offers different opportunities for self-awareness and growth. The experience can enhance your appreciation for the little things in life and remind you to be thankful for what you have.
4. Develop a Positive Outlook
When life is not going the way you’ve planned, and you’re going through a rough patch in life, it becomes tough to feel hopeful. Now, in such situations, your mindset plays a significant role in your capacity to get back and stand up on your feet again after being knocked down. Resilient individuals are less likely to focus on difficulties or feel victimized or overwhelmed. At the same time, they accept that change is just a part of life. In tough times, they focus on the beneficial features of the condition and imagine a favorable outcome. They have confidence that good will eventually happen.
5. Take Care of Yourself
Stress harms us emotionally and mentally. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help you make your mind and body stronger. Give yourself space, rest, and the resources you need to stay strong. Eat a good and healthy diet, get enough sleep, stay hydrated, and exercise daily. Try to avoid unhealthy coping mechanisms, like the consumption of alcohol or other addictive substances. It’s also vital to take time to relax through meditation, yoga, prayers, exercises like deep breathing, or writing.
6. 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Techniques
Grounding techniques are one of the methods of building resilience. Grounding techniques are defined as physical and emotional presence supported “by the ground.”
The grounding technique is helpful for many individuals is the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique. Consider taking out time to notice your surroundings in the current moment by naming:
- Five things you can see
- Four things you can feel
- Three things you can hear
- Two things you can smell
- One thing you can taste
This calming method can help you decrease anxiety and build emotional regulation skills.
7. Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation is a technique of resiliency training. Mindfulness meditation improves resilience and helps you to stay calm in challenging situations. When you set yourself to bring mindfulness in life, you are training your mind to deal with the overwhelming and strenuous situations in life and overcome the perils that society would bring on to us. Moreover, it gives you the power to deal with the prejudices others throw at us regardless of what it could lead us to.
8. Body Scan Meditation Technique
The body scan meditation is a meditation technique that allows you to gain awareness of various body parts and present sensations.
In body scan meditation, you scan your body for tension, tightness, pain, or anything that is unordinary. The benefits of body scan meditations include decreased anxiety levels, improved sleep patterns, decreased pain, better focus, and greater self-awareness.
9. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
The technique of progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) aims to release tension and stress in the individual’s body. Using this technique, you can relax each major muscle group from head to toe. The benefits of this technique are that it can reduce stress, provide a more relaxed and calm state, help treat insomnia and improve your overall health. Using this technique can build resilience to stress in the future.
10. Mindful Breathing Exercises
Different breathing exercises like deep breathing exercises are another way that can help you reduce stress. There are multiple breathing techniques; many require breathing through your nose, holding your breath, and exhaling.
These breathing exercises and techniques can help you improve your cognitive processes.
Nowadays, it’s easier to learn and have access to meditation. To learn meditation, you can approach retreat centers or register for online courses like the Vedic meditation course online.
The Final Words
The earlier mentioned tips and meditation can help you develop more resilience. Resilience can transform you into a more decisive and assertive individual who has the power to take action instead of panicking. That means that you’ll be able to gradually move towards your goals without being let down by failures if you acquire resilience in life.