Building resilience

Did you ever have one of those years where everything went wrong and you felt like you were being tested at every turn?

This was me a few years ago, and that’s when I had to deep dive into strategies to build my resilience to weather my way through the storm. Since then, I’ve coached several clients who have had the same experience. Whether it’s personal or professional, we can all have those periods when we ask ourselves, “when will things turn around?”

I’m working with one client at the moment who has had a horror 6 months and it’s affecting her ability to really ‘sell’ herself when it comes to interviews, as she has lost her confidence in herself and her skills. So I thought it was timely to talk about some strategies to help build resilience which can help you navigate the tough times more skilfully.

Switch up the internal narrative

When something bad or disruptive happens, how many of us pop it in that spinning wheel in our mind and rehash it over and over and over again. Not only does this hold you back from being able to move forward but can amplify the incident and make you feel worse. A great technique to use is Expressive Writing. By writing continuously for about 20 minutes, it helps draw out your feelings and can give you more clarity.

Meditation

Meditation is a practical way of training your brain to focus on the ‘now’ and to work towards reaching a calmer and less anxious state. A common technique is the body scan, where you focus from head to toe on each body part and mentally relax and release any tension that pops up. When you find yourself in a highly stressful or confronting situation, using these meditation techniques can improve your reactions and lessen the discomfort.

Move towards goals

By setting small goals, working towards and then achieving them, we build up our self esteem and confidence. It can provide a sense of accomplishment, purpose and help overcome what has been holding you back. This is a key technique I use in my coaching to help establish small wins and bigger outcomes.

No one’s life is rainbows and glitter, despite what we see on social media! There are so many other tools you can add to your resilience kit, such as self care, building connections, facing your fears and so much more. The first step is picking a few that resonate and seeing what works for you and what doesn’t and building over time.

Be Fabulous

Lisa xx