How do we train our resilience?

Today's workforce is experiencing an enormous about of change. My personal experience shows that we are no longer seeing one change process at a time. We need to learn new technology, new ways of working, there is change of leadership and structure, not to mention everything that happens in your personal life.

I have immersed myself in all things resilience in recent times, going along to at least four different events that focused on resilience and wellbeing, each with its own take on the theme. However, there are a number of commonalities that we need to consider when maintaining our coping strength. 

Knowing is half the battle

As humans, we presume to know. We take the shortcut that takes our current experience and links it to what we know in the past, even if it means joining the dots that don't exist. This works a lot of the time, but some times we just get it wrong.

By increasing our awareness and noticing changes, we can anticipate chinks in our resilience armour and therefore act to change our behaviours to ensure that we are able to manage our physical and emotional reactions.

Each to their own 

We are all individuals and as such, how we react to different situations differs. When it comes to resilience, we need to acknowledge that we all have different triggers and different signs of strain. Given this, we should keep an open mind to different tools and techniques to manage stress. Try different things and see what works. Adult mindfulness colouring in will keep some people sane, but will be a complete bore to others.

Look after yourself, keep an eye on others

It is important to keep our mental health at top of mind. While it is much easier to see physical risks and physical injury, seeing evidence of mental injury is a lot harder. 

We need to ensure that we use our newly acquired awareness to keep an eye on changes of behaviour for ourselves and those around us. These changes may mean that it is time to step in and hone our resilience.

The Third Space

Of all the techniques was spoken about, the one that resonated with me with was the Third Space. Dr Adam Fraser talks of how coping in different situations is not so much about what we do during the activity, but more so what we do before and after the activity.

For example, the difference between a top level sports person and the middle tier is not so much about their techniques and skills, but more around their ability to switch off and relax between plays. It not only helps fatigue, but allows them to put a poor choice behind them so they can concentrate on the next play. 

Watch this video to hear how a CEO created their Third Space in a way that most of us won't be able to do.