There is much more than strength behind a hard personality, after all, true strength does not come from physical ability, but from indomitable will, the resilient person is a reflection of attitude that does not include abandonment, which can fall eight times and rise. ten times, he lets himself fail and keeps looking at tomorrow with hope.
Although we have heard of this type of personality at some point, it is interesting to know that its conceptualization appeared in the 80s in the field of social psychology. Suzanne C. Kobasa, a psychologist at the University of Chicago, wanted to understand what some “special” people were able to not only tolerate stress better, but also learn from the most adverse circumstances, from the most difficult situations.
“The man who rises is stronger than the man who has never fallen. “- Viktor Frankl-
Resilient personality was then defined as a subtle combination between certain biological components and the learning that some people derive from their social experiences. Today, this approach has changed a little bit: we can understand this set of capabilities as an undeniable potential that we all need. Develop.
In fact, large companies have begun to value “mental strength,” which could result in mental strength, associated with a harsh personality. Because in a society as complex and competitive as today’s society, it is no longer enough to be brilliant and talented. Should we put all our resources into action to move forward?In all fields, in all environments and in all circumstances.
Peter Clough, Professor of Applied Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University, is one of the leading benchmarks in the study of resilient personality and mental tenacity. In his books “Developing Mental Tenacity”, he offers us various psychometric tools and tests to evaluate the four dimensions. that make up this kind of personality.
Moreover, one aspect on which we must be very clear is that no one was born with a strong personality, none of these mental approaches and internal forces “come from the factory”, but are the result of a series of thoughts, attributions and attitudes that we must assume from our experiences, our successes and, of course, our failures.
There is no worse enemy than the one that inhabits our own interior, our internal representation determines our behavior. In this way, if someone is shot, fragile, wounded and trapped in the nets of indecision, he will rarely get something good, something that satisfies him, you will not be able to face a challenge, a difficulty.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said self-confidence is the first step toward success and well-being, something we could certainly translate in another way: our lives are our self-esteem.
In order to trust ourselves and our self-esteem, there is no choice but to gather strength to face fears, nurture our self-concept, and set aside many of the inherited attributes that limit our true potential.
Resilient personality knows that we have no control over life and adversity, it is fully aware that it cannot control everything that happens in its life, everything that happens around it or even everything that fate holds for it in the future.
The resilient personality knows that a large part of life is governed by uncertainty and faces everything that happens differently, finds strength where others see weaknesses and moves on, furthermore, even in the midst of all difficulties, believes that it will always be possible achieve new achievements, new learnings and important goals.
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi said that changes are part of life and that accepting them in the best possible way can be an incentive for our personal growth, however, challenges and any kind of change in our daily lives lead us to fear, stress and restlessness.
The resilient personality is characterized above all by a clear cognitive flexibility and a high tolerance to ambiguity, its internal vision, calm and mature, allows you to see each challenge not as a threat, but as a time to gather internal resources and face adversity in a positive and effective way.
In the resilient personality the commitment goes beyond itself or its own benefit, a defining characteristic of these people is their true social commitment, their sense of community or business, that deep desire for altruism and social support makes it a source of inspiration for others. In addition, its mere presence and a calm and concentrated attitude often reduce the impact of stress in some settings.
For existentialist psychologists, resilient personality is the reflection of an authentic person, someone who looks to the future safely, without selfishness and driven by a sincere desire for social well-being.
As we have seen, this type of personality brings together a series of internal approaches, characteristics and processes, where there is no shortage of resilience and effective practices that promote balance and social harmony, both outside and inside, so we will work on our daily life in these dimensions described in this article.
If we cannot choose the events of our lives, we will at least try to work on our thoughts and attitudes to improve the reality around us.