Resilience for Wellness
Life is peppered with ups and downs. We have days of great success as well as those when challenges feel difficult to overcome. We make headway on projects and dreams then run into obstacles that set us two steps back. Opportunities appear; roadblocks shut us down. The high and lows are continual, and while sometimes the roller coaster is manageable, other times the ride leaves us feeling queasy.
As individuals, each of us has a unique way of riding the roller coaster and facing the changes that inevitably happen throughout life. Even similar experiences will affect each of us differently, and our emotional responses to life events will vary greatly. Though we will all encounter both successful and tough times, how we approach and cope with these circumstances is far from one-size-fits-all.
Influencing us through it all is the resilience we all possess in some capacity – playing a significant role in our ability to adjust to life changes and events. Shaped through our experiences of life’s roller coaster, it is resilience that helps us to flex and adjust mentally, emotionally, and behaviorally in response to any of our experiences. With resilience, we adapt, adapt well, and emerge stronger from all the ups and downs.
Wellness is an outgrowth of resilience. When we are resilient, we are better prepared and more capable to construct the wellness we envision. With resilience, we can see the growth opportunities that exist for our wellness and can approach changes with an eye for creating the life we desire. Leveraging resilience possessed, we are better problem solvers, more connected, feel greater hope and optimism, and have greater life satisfaction. Resilience promotes our growth – most specifically into the best self we wish to become.
Though resilience, like wellness, will look different for each of us, there are strategies we can all use to build even greater resilience to further wellness. Here are a few to reflect upon:
We can make self-care or well-care a part of everyday. When we tend to our own needs, including our feelings, we build resilience and wellness in tandem. In making self-care and well-care a priority, we support our wellbeing which allows us to be stronger in the face of stress or adversity. It’s a cyclical relationship that continually spirals upwards!
We can review, reflect, and learn from our experiences. While not all experiences in life are equal, there is always understanding and learning to be obtained. In stepping back to review, reflect, and learn from the ups and downs, we build our resilience and ability to adjust. It is through these experiences we build capacity to adapt as well as grow stronger into the future.
We can hold onto hope and take action when needed. Change is never easy, but it is something that is always occurring. While we cannot change the past, holding a positive or hopeful outlook on changes that are or may occur empowers us to take charge of the present. This perspective provides the space needed to envision and enact changes that best meet our needs.
We can stay connected with those who bring support, meaning, and love into our lives. The importance of connection can never be emphasized enough. Connection breeds resilience as it builds our network and skills for adapting and growing. As we connect with those who provide support, meaning, and joy in our lives, our relationships reciprocally provide us the support, guidance, and acceptance needed to further grow resilience and boost wellness.
As a learning process for adaptability, resilience is continually grown throughout our lives. Rather than something we do or do not have, resilience is a set of skills that we all possess and can continue to nurture through all life experiences. We can even expand our resilience as we ride life’s roller coaster and manage the ups and downs! As we do, our wellness can flourish with resilience in a way that reflects our best life envisioned. With resilience boosting wellness, we are empowered to create the life we desire.
What is one thing you will do today to nurture your resilience for wellness?
