Resilience: Being Strong Despite Life’s Storms
There are people who set themselves apart through their resilience. It is precisely these people who have an ability to stay afloat in hard times. They know that it is impossible to be immune to suffering and they understand that the storms that make our days dark are also opportunities to overcome challenges. So they arm themselves with courage and they continue, repeating the mantra of keeping on in order to grow, despite all adversity.
“When there is a storm, the birds hide, but the eagles fly higher”
-Mahatma Gandhi-
Being resilient in our daily lives
Resilience is a concept that has earned great relevance in recent years, particularly from those perspectives like positive psychology that are more interested in studying the characteristics that allow people to overcome adversity, pushing into the background the understanding of those factors that increase the probability of a mental disorder.
Being resilient from a psychological standpoint is being able to face adversity and come out stronger.
When we talk about resilience, we tend to think about traumatic events, like the loss of a loved one, surviving an accident, or situations of abuse… But in our daily lives, there are also complex situations that we have to face. A catastrophe does not have to happen; overcoming any mundane trouble like facing up to criticism, managing to be a better person, or starting the day with a smile after a sad spell is also being resilient.
We all have our own battles to deal with and our own resources to face them in some way or another; we just have to discover them.
Characteristics of resilient people
There are people who are resilient because they have had an example of resilience to follow, like their parents or a sibling, but others have learned to deal with and sort out each problem along the way by themselves. They have learned from trial and error and become stronger through their own scars.
This shows us that resilience is a skill that we can all develop and practice. In order to do this, it is necessary for us to properly manage our thoughts and emotions; channeling them into the canal that gives us the most control over them is essential.
Below, we are going to tell you some of the main characteristics of resilient people so that you can start training yourself in them.
They know how to adapt to change
Like reeds, resilient people have the ability to be flexible when the wind whips forcefully. They know that swimming against the current will wear them out and they choose to have an open mind when faced with different opinions and circumstances.
They get rid of their old beliefs, prejudices, and insecurities to put on new suits that will accompany them in moments of change. But they do not adapt out of resignation, but rather because they know that there are other, different worlds that are not wrong just because they are different.
“Water conquers all, for it adapts to all.”
-Lao Tse-
They lean on their strengths
Resilient people know themselves. They know what it is that harms them and bothers them and they understand that their well being depends on taking care of themselves.
Resilient people know how to identify their weaknesses as well as their strengths so that they can put them to use when it is necessary.
They will use their desire to fight, their motivation, their strength, and their abilities as the foundation to keep moving forward. But above all else, they respect themselves and they take themselves into consideration because they know that knowing oneself is an essential step towards growing an establishing healthy relationships with others.
“Each person is an island unto himself, in a very real sense; and he can only build bridges to other islands if he first of all is willing to be himself and permitted to be himself.”
-Carl Rogers-
They know that acceptance is necessary to advance
Resilient people know that acceptance is a great ally to advance and change. Because only when we accept what is happening to us can we start to work towards improving it. If we refuse, on the other hand, the only thing we are doing is giving it more strength.
Resilient people know that accepting is understanding and facing, not throwing in the towel.
They realize that no one is immune to suffering
Being resilient does not mean that a person does not have wounds, but that despite them, the adverse situation has been instructional to them in some way. They have been able to accept the pain and instead of drowning in it, they have chosen to learn.
Resilient people know that shielding and protecting oneself from pain is not always going to work since fleeing would set them further away from the possibility of understanding what is happening to them and continuing to grow.
As you can see, being resilient can be learned and trained. In fact, it should be an essential lesson in schools. It is always worth learning strategies for improving and continuing to grow. Resilience is that ability that allows us to be strong despite the fact that the wind is whipping forcefully, adapting as best we can to the slumps that are made up of losses, letdowns, trauma, and failure.
You, too, are resilient; do not forget this. Or have you never overcome any difficulty or situation in your life? Think and remember that time that you were brave and despite your fear, threw yourself into the pool…
