Challenges are a part of life, for all of us. Some big, some small and some that seem impossible to overcome. The key to thriving throughout our lives is not the absence of these challenges, but the ability to respond to them and overcome them. That’s resilience.
Taryn Stejskal wrote about five habits that particularly resilient people put into practice:
“1. Vulnerability
Resilient leaders let their whole authentic selves to shine forth, they allow their inside selves: thoughts, feelings, and experience to be congruent with their outside selves: the self they project to the world.
2. Productive perseverance
Develop the flexibility and intelligence to navigate the strategic dilemma of opposing forces; to know when to pivot, to rethink the plan; know when to maintain the mission.
3. Connection
Purpose inspires greater meaning and closeness with others, and prevents us from being derailed from our path.
4. Grati-osity
Be patient. Most people have to wait to realize this benefit which often follows this pattern: pain -> waiting ->growth ->grati-osity.
5. Possibility
It’s an age-old tale, coming back after failure, and standing up one more time than we fall down. Now it has a name: Adversity Quotient (AQ): The inability to be deterred by failure. Perhaps it’s not IQ or EQ, but the ability to persevere, despite the odds, to acknowledge fear, setbacks, and failure, and forge onward is the stuff of true success.”
Life doesn’t come with a guidebook. Everyone will face everyday challenges or obstacles with more lasting impact. While each change affects us differently, being prepared for the twists and turns with the right tools of resilience will allow us not only to endure, but to grow.
