Life can be wonderful, but we have to be realistic: it won’t always be wonderful, no matter how hard we strive to achieve it. Some good things will happen to us simply “lucky”, but the vast majority will depend on our efforts. What about the bad stuff? The truth is that living means that there are setbacks and that we do not achieve everything we want, to face it it is necessary to strengthen resilience.
It works for everyone, but do we all respond in the same way to these situations?Of course, the answer is no. On the other hand, is it possible to become stronger after negative situations?If we want to grow on a personal level, that’s exactly where we’ll find the key. Read on to find out how to build resilience!
“The world breaks everyone and then some are strengthened exactly where they broke. “Ernest Hemingway.
Let’s start at the beginning: what is resilience? The reality is that, although it is a common and frequently used word, its definition may not be very clear, it is normal that we have vague notions about what that means, but it would not be able to define it if someone did not intend to do so.
Therefore, resilience is a person’s ability to adapt positively to adverse situations. Resilient people, therefore, are able to get out of complex moments more strongly than they have ever lived. Not only does it mean “seeing the good in things,” the idea goes way beyond that.
Resilience implies, among other things, the ability to effectively regulate our emotions, which is fundamental to these setbacks that occur and, more importantly, helps us overcome the obstacles we face along the way.
Another positive aspect is that it is not a genetically determined part of our personality. What does this mean that we are not born with a capacity? X?Resistencia. Al, it develops throughout our lives and in our interactions with the environment around us, which means we can find our resilience.
“Obstacles should not stop you. If you hit a wall, do not turn around or give up. Do you check how to climb it, cross it or get around it? . – Michael Jordan-
And now, how can we improve our resilience? To do this, it is important to know what factors, both personal and environmental, influence this capacity, in this way we can work its various components and be able to adapt positively to adversity.
First of all, we who have to accept what we are going through obviously this does not happen overnight, immediately after the tragedy, this is something that is gradually achieved in time and, in many cases, with the help of a qualified psychologist. .
“You don’t know how strong you are until being strong becomes the only option you have left. “-Bob Marley-
On the other hand, it is important to be able to do something we have already talked about: to see the good in things, that is, to be optimistic. However, there is something fundamental about this: this optimism must be realistic, we do not have to keep the negative and neglect the positive, but we must not raise the positive to an unattainable extreme, if we do we will have a very hard clash with reality.
Finally, there is something that greatly helps us to improve our resilience: our sense of humor, being able to laugh at oneself or situations that appear in your daily life is a very valuable tool that will greatly facilitate your adaptation to the various disadvantages that occur. .
In addition to personal factors, there are other external factors that can influence our ability to improve resilience, for example, in the face of a complicated situation, formal support (associations, specialized institutions, etc. ) can become a relevant factor in this adaptation process. .
It will also make a difference in the social support we have. To be able to have it with our family, our partner and our friends. Knowing that they are there, emotionally, and also in case we need a favor or help, is an invaluable resource that we have at hand.
It is important to consider all these factors if we face a complicated situation. It is normal that at first it is difficult to adapt to it, but no one is born knowing. The key point of all this is that we know what tools to use to improve our resilience and grow on a personal level with what appears in our lives. If we fall, we can get up!
Images provided by Ib Wira Dyatmika, Nick Nice and Andy Omvik.