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Build Yourself Strong Resilience


The uncertainty across so many sectors is enough to test the most positive of individuals. Business leaders across the globe are trying to manage the ever-changing landscape and keep afloat through the in and out of lockdown and restrictions.

A resilient mindset is an important asset for today’s leaders to have. Resilient people are better able to cope with change, challenges and stressful periods in their professional life.

The benefits of a more resilient mindset in our careers are abundant, so building resilience is key. Here are some practices that can help build your resilience.

 

1. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness has been found to enhance cognitive flexibility, decrease stress and boost creativity. In its simplest form, mindfulness means awareness of the present moment, and it enables us to refocus on our work and its purpose. When change, challenges and stress are upon us, mindfulness will provide emotional regulation, decreased reactivity and increased response flexibility.

 

2. Maintain a strong support network

Asking for help is never a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of resilience. Having a support network, both in and out of the workplace, can help to improve resilience. Good relationships encourage positive emotions and increase our sense of belonging and self-worth, which are particularly important when we’re faced with adversity.

In the workplace, maintaining trusting relationships with your team are all valuable. When you feel supported in your work environment, you’re more likely to perform at your best and bounce back from hardship. So, invest in building these relationships and be particularly mindful of when others may need some support from you.

In your personal life, your support network is just as important for working through and moving on from stressful periods. Sometimes just telling the people close to you how you’re feeling can make a big difference. While you may not feel you can be 100% honest with your peers and managers at work, you can be with your personal support network.

You should also consider engaging a Business or Life Coach if you haven't already, this critical friend resource can provide the confidential space to offload whilst working with you to develop solutions to challenges at work or home.

 

3. Compartmentalise

People are notoriously bad at multi-tasking, and almost as notorious for thinking that we’re good at it. According to recent research published by the British Psychological Association, switching from one task to another invites in distractions and reduces productivity by as much as 40%.

When we divide up the day’s tasks into blocks and take short breaks between each, our brains can refresh for the next task ahead. This boosts our productivity and reduces the anxiety that comes with feeling that we have a million things to get done. Our brains can build resilience by enforcing these internal rules to stop us from worrying about multiple priorities at once.

It’s also important to leave work at work. People who enjoy regular leisure time are more likely to demonstrate resilient thinking as they allow their brain to refresh. Exercise also helps at a biological level to reduce stress and improve resilience. Try a brisk lunch time walk to blow away the morning’s worries and approach the afternoon with a new outlook.

 

4. Develop mental agility

Resilience is all about being able to step out of a situation and look at it objectively, rather than becoming engrossed in it. Resilient people can see beyond a current patch of adversity and draw on wider knowledge to put it into context. In other words, they demonstrate mental agility.

Being mentally agile and decentring stress when it occurs enables the core resilience skill of “response flexibility.” When you stop and put a situation into perspective, you not only enable a clearer response, but you strengthen your belief that adversity can be overcome.

Just like regular physical exercise strengthens your muscles, regular mental exercise will strengthen your cognitive agility. When things seem hard, stop and think about what else is going well. Remind yourself of times in the past when you’ve triumphed over a difficult situation. It can also be effective to break issues down into smaller goals so that they seem surmountable. Avoid ‘all or nothing’ thinking and be prepared for mistakes or setbacks to happen – they’re completely normal.

 

5. Avoid the 3 Ps

Personal: all too often people blame themselves when a bad event occurs, this leads to a spiral effect and if not dealt with can lead to stress, depression and thoughts of suicide.

Preponderance: to laser-focus on the event and associated feeling to the exclusion of all else

Permanent: to believe the feelings and emotions will not pass.

It is your responsibility as a business leader to build your resilience and show the way, to lead you and your business out of the current climate. I have spoken in previous blogs that it is our SME community across the globe that will drive a new future and ensure the future success of our respective markets.

No-one can be held to account for wavering, and if you haven't in the last year then you're either an android or exceptionally resilient already, and if that's the case please use some Emotional Intelligence to ensure your peers can see a way forward.




www.rosiabay.co.uk

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