3 Tools to Build Personal Resiliency

In times of uncertainty – stress, breakdown, crisis, upheaval or even disaster our natural inclination is to rush to action and answers.  Rushing inhibits access to our higher reasoning skills.  When physically rushing we have less motor control.  This is not a personality flaw; it is how humans instinctively function in highly stressful situations.

These 3 tools will help build personal resilience, provide more access to your creativity, and prevent escalation of the situation. By practicing these in advance you will be more creative and flexible when uncertainty hits – and it will.  The only thing we know for certain is that things will change.

STOP    breathe – reflect – assess the situation calmly – appreciate silence – expand your awareness

Practices:  meditation or mindfulness training, create your own practice of reflection, journal, think of at least 3 creative solutions for an issue you are facing before taking action, avoid multi-tasking

TRAIN YOUR BRAIN     mix it up – force the brain to think differently by changing your routine

Practices:  read a new magazine, see how many different ways you can drive to work, order a different morning beverage, take public transportation if it’s not your routine, brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand, wear a color you don’t normally wear, mix up the routines in your work day

ASK QUESTIONS    do not rush to the first right answer – most of the time it will be wrong

Practices:   be curious, ask questions you don’t know the answer to, dumb questions, open ended questions, ask questions of people you don’t normally ask, stay with a question for a period of time and see what is revealed

Use humor and stay positive as you work with these tools.  It’s a much more pleasant way to learn.

You can download the Resiliency graphic guide to use to track your progress.

3 Responses to “3 Tools to Build Personal Resiliency”

1. fireball says:

   October 13, 2011 at 6:58 am

   Wow! I’ve had a week of much to take care of in my life and I was reminded to embrace these 3 skills and remember to breathe. The process does slow me down and there is a switch that is turned on that helps me focus and work freely from stress.

   Reply
2. fireball says:

   October 13, 2011 at 7:00 am

   Wow! I’ve had a week of much to take care of in my life and I was reminded to embrace these 3 skills and remember to breathe. The process does slow me down and there is a switch that is turned on that helps me focus and work freely from stress and be open to the out come. Some times this is not easy but once I’ve done one of these exercises, life is sweeter.

   Reply
3. Mary Corrigan says:

   October 13, 2011 at 8:59 pm

   I had to be reminded of this myself this week, even as I was writing this post. The universe has such a wicked sense of humor.

   Reply