An Introduction to Emotional Resilience

Emotional resilience is fast becoming the buzz word in organisations across the world. This article explores what Emotional Resilience is and how it can be developed

The term Emotional Resilience seems to be a word you hear a lot more these days. A high level of emotional resilience can help people cope with the strain and stress of daily life more competently. In the corporate world, building resilience is even being used as a way to generate a competitive advantage over key rivals. As we will go on to see later on in this article, the great news is that emotional resilience is something that can be developed over time and this has been scientifically proven.

What is Emotional Resilience?

Emotional Resilience refers specifically to one’s ability in being able to bounce back from adversity or how well we can cope with things during periods of elevated stress. The higher our emotional resilience level, the better we can deal with adverse situations that present themselves in our lives. How we deal with problems is based on a number of things, however, emotional resilience as mentioned earlier is something we can teach ourselves. Below we have put together a list of how best to develop your emotional resilience and make important steps towards creating a healthier, happier, more positive and productive you.

How to Develop Emotional Resilience

• Dedicate time to yourself. By this what we mean is trying to better the relationship you have with yourself. All of us experience self-talk – our inner-monologue – some of us experience negative self-talk and others, positive self-talk. Just by being aware of our thoughts and emotions if the first step towards dealing with them. Awareness of the issue is key and by dedicating time to yourself one becomes more self-aware. If you like to exercise, then make sure you get enough exercise. If you like to read, then dedicate time to reading. By addressing our own needs first, it makes us more able to deal with the challenge’s life throws at us
• Build a solid social network. Building connections with other likeminded and positive people, as often as you can, has a big impact on how you view and cope with life. ‘You are who you hang with’ as the saying goes. By having a reliable person, you can turn to for advice or guidance during challenging times can really help us deal with the issue itself. For an employee, it may be a coach or a mentor, and for an individual, it could be your best friend or even your mum. Research has shown that the best problem solvers are those that delegate and consult.
• Stay present. Being able to stay in the present without looking too far forward or too far back can massively impact the way in which we are able to deal with adversity. In our experience staying present can not only help you to survive but instead thrive under challenging situations. A great way to stay present is to practice mindfulness or do a mediation.

All of the above can really help people learn how to deal with stressful situations in a more positive and proactive way. By making a few small changes we can learn to thrive in the face of adversity.