The Art of Building Resilience

We know that there will be challenges in life, whether they are work related or personal difficulties. The way in which we handle those challenges and move forward determines one’s level of success in life. People in sales positions are often regarded as resilient. While it may be true in cases, there are many cases where the sales professional will become burnt out, just the same as those who handle challenges in other types of professions.

Resilience is something that can be learned and cultivated. Gain an understanding of the factors that contribute to being resilient, and evaluate yourself against those factors. From there you can make some changes to increase your personal resilience. Once you fine-tune your own skills, you can share them with others to help them become more resilient, even when the circumstances seem dire. Here are the six major attributes that build resilience:

Positive Outlook – This is about looking at the glass half full, rather than empty. It is having the ability to identify what is working in a situation, or what you can learn from it. Without a positive outlook, you will not likely work on the other factors.
Adaptability – The world is constantly changing. One’s ability to change with it is essential. Just think what life would be like is we never embraced driving a car, and instead relied on the railroad system. Today it’s difficult to imagine your daily activities without a smart phone. If you fine-tune your adaptability and even embrace change, you will be much more resilient than the person who resists.
Relationship Building – The adage that ‘no man is an island’ holds true here. Whenever you find yourself in a difficult situation, notice how much it helps when you have a trusted friend or colleague to listen and support you. This is by far a key element in building resilience.
Resolve – Another way to look at ‘resolve’ is to ask yourself how tenacious and persistent you are when solving problems. Problems take many shapes and sizes. Having stamina and patience to work through issues quickens the pace of problem solving.
Options Thinking – Identify situations in which you surfaced a few different ways of handling a situation. You were likely more effective than sticking to the one and only way to deal with something. Thinking in options is healthy in virtually all kinds of problem solving. It helps us be more creative, can push us toward having that Positive Outlook, and can spur the energy we need to use of ‘Resolve.’ Always look at options when trying to overcome life’s difficulties.
Personal Wellness– Why would this be such an important component of resilience? It’s because whenever we face an issue that stops us in our tracks, we must have good energy and clear thinking. It makes a huge difference. Life presents many stressors. You cannot always control what comes your way, but you can be prepared to manage through when you are in optimum shape physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Pick one attribute of resilience that you would like to increase. Then make a conscious effort to introduce a daily practice into your life that strengthens it. In the end, Resilience can win out, making you a very happy individual.

About the author:
Diane Allen, PCC is a professional certified coach, leadership development consultant and founder of the Strategic Leadership Academy (www.strategicleadershipacademy.com). She has spent the past twelve years helping leaders, sales execs, and many other business professionals build personal and organizational success. For a complimentary assessment on how well you handle resilience please send an email to: info@strategicleadershipacademy.com and put “resilience assessment” in the subject line.