As the media is very fond of telling us at the moment, we are living in uncertain times! Does the very word ‘uncertain’ stimulate a feeling of being unsure or even anxious? Is there really such a thing as certainty (other than death and taxes!). Wouldn’t it be nice to develop a mind-set that is able to deal with apparent uncertainty and generate a feeling within ourselves that no matter what happens, we will be able to handle it? This ability to generate that feeling and to be actually capable of bouncing back from difficult situations goes by the label of Emotional Resilience.
Here at Panda Education we are passionate about raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing and finding solutions to help. As we are currently delivering sessions with themes of mental health, emotional resilience and managing anxiety, we have put together the following tips to help you increase your emotional resilience and be better equipped to deal with adversity.
We’ve all had bad days or moments when we feel crushed or beaten and want the floor to open up for us, so we can climb in, curl up into a ball and start sucking our thumbs… maybe now more than ever.
Emotional Resilience means that you are better equipped to withstand unfortunate events and be able to rationalise (not personalise) them. Developing it (yes it can be developed) leads not just to a happier life, but a life with less worry and stress. Would you like to become that person who views the tough situation from the ‘challenge’ perspective, rather than the ‘problem’ one!
Here are 4 things to be mindful of when assessing your own emotional resilience….
1 – How do you see yourself?
What is your perception of yourself? The image you project to the world….is it someone strong and capable or not? Practice ‘visualising’ yourself being ‘who and how you want to be’ i.e, seeing yourself (clearly) handling difficult situations competently. Repeatedly imagining a stronger more resilient you, starts to create a new pattern in your brain that enables you to become the new you. Visualising or imagining how you would like to be is a simple but highly effective tool.
2 – What do you say to yourself?
Start to become aware of your internal dialogue (self-talk). It is reckoned that about 80% of our self-talk is negative and unhelpful. Notice it and when it happens, acknowledge it, then question why you say that to yourself. Then as you question these thoughts and make an effort to correct them, your self-talk will improve. Note – you’ll probably never eliminate it completely but the balance will swing more in your favour.
3 –What questions do you ask yourself?
By simply changing the way we word the questions we ask ourselves can alter our perspective and over time contributes towards our resilience. For example, change from “Why can’t I do this?’ to “How can I do this?” or “Why does this always happen to me?” to “What’s the best way for me to deal with this?”
4 – What do you believe about yourself?
And where have these beliefs come from? Did you have events in your life where you crumbled, so you told yourself that you were a mess? By the same token you will have had many (if not more) successes in life. Try reminding yourself of these instead.
A good way to try and identify your beliefs is by writing down…
I believe that people who are emotionally resilient are…
What is your answer? Is it a negative response? If so why? In order to reframe your beliefs about yourself, you need to try and determine your core values and align them with these.
Regardless of how long we’ve been on planet earth, if we are willing to learn, then the techniques to change our approach and craft this skill is akin to learning how to create your own suit of armour. But more than that, it gives you the ability to ‘bounce back’ in times of adversity or ‘uncertainty’.
Click here to find out about our emotional resilience training
