Everybody feels worried, gets angry, and is panicked from time to time. While balancing parenthood and career, prioritizing your spouse, caring for aging parents and in-laws, it can be challenging to manage our long lists of responsibilities. Oftentimes, we’re unable to manage the bigger things, so we try to gain control of the smaller things…but when we can’t, we freak out. Unfortunately, these things are often out of our power to control. The good news? We have the power to become aware, take action, and eventually build up our strength to manage these daily adversities better and help us quickly overcome uncertainty.
What is resilliency?
Resiliency is the ability to cope or recover from uncertainty and hardship. People with resiliency tend to bounce back faster and with less stress or anxiety. This doesn’t mean that a resilient person doesn’t experience the intensity of life adversities, it means they have a pretty good handle on how to deal with these quicker than others.
Everyone has resilience — it’s only a matter of how much you have and how well you use it. In fact, we can learn to practice resiliency daily to help us get a better handle on our daily worries.
Try these techniques to help build resiliency in your day-to-day life!
1. Gain Your Control Back
Practice focusing on the things you can control, and let go of those you cannot. When we are not focused, we are often worrying about the things of the past and of the future. Stop dreading on what was and what ifs. You’ll notice that when you start to gain control, things affecting you will seem a little less frightening and overwhelming than they did before.
2. Keep Things in Perspective
Maybe these things are temporary, situational, accidental, or simply a coincidence. Practice looking at the small things relative to the big picture. Ask yourself:
- Is this going to matter in five minutes, five hours, five days, five months, five years?
- What would your best friend or spouse say about this?
- Does someone or something else more important require my energy more than this?
- What is going well right now? Is there something more exciting I can attend to?
Practice being intentional and rational in your thoughts while considering your long-term goals.
3. Exercise
Exercise improves our thinking and mood, and reduces stress and anxiety. Dedicating a few minutes to physical activity in the morning, or taking a ten-minute exercise break during your day, may increase your energy and help you manage your stress quicker. Try incorporating yoga in your exercise routine. Yoga is a practice that teaches us about how we think, how we respond to challenging times, and how we adapt to change. Adaptability promotes your brain to create new connections in times of problem-solving. Ritual practices of yoga promotes brain flexibility that will translate into your real-world endeavours.
4. Practice Goal Visualization
Spend less time on what you fear, and visualize what you want! Start by setting a plan of what you want to happen. Maybe it’s a few words on a sticky note posted in your office, or a list of your annual short-term and long-term goals — just make sure it’s easily visible! Read your desired outcome aloud several times per day. Next, dedicate time to create a mental image of what this looks like to you. When we prepare for success, we gain the confidence necessary to achieve it. The more familiar your brain and body become with these goals, the more likely they are to work to achieve them!
5. Create New Habits
It’s important to take care of yourself among life’s tragedies, hardships, losses, and stresses. Make time for things that bring you excitement and pleasure. Try a new hobby, partake in an activity you once enjoyed, explore a new friendship, help someone by being their mentor. Self-care helps us prime our brains for challenging situations. Schedule time in your day for yourself as you would for a work meeting or lunch date with a friend. During this time, check-in with yourself and remember that today is a new day to listen to your body, pursue your goals, learn from adversity, and be a role model!