Our mindset can make or break us. If we live with a negative mindset long enough, we bring ourselves and those around us down.
We can’t do that. It’s not right for those we care about. It’s not right for us.
But what can we do about this? We can change our mindset. We can become resilient.
Photo by Wolf Schram on Unsplash
Bouncing Back: How to Cultivate Resilience in the Face of Life’s Challenges
Life throws a lot of crap our way. It’s our choice whether or not we allow the crap we get hit with to stick or not.
I think of all the setbacks I’ve had in my life. From being let go from Family Christian Bookstores (this could be one of the best setbacks that set me up for a great comeback) to becoming deathly ill, I’ve had to bounce back.
You have to bounce back as well. You have to become resilient in the face of your everyday struggles.
Resilience is the ability to recover or withstand difficulties. It’s becoming mentally tough. It’s bouncing back.
What do you need to do to cultivate resiliency, though? In today’s article, we will look at five ways to bounce back and cultivate resilience in the face of life’s challenges.
How To Cultivate Resilience
Embrace the Right Mindset
Your mindset matters. The better space your mind is in when you begin to hit the difficulties in your life, the quicker you’ll be able to recover.
You’ll know what’s right, what’s true about yourself. You won’t feel torn down or destroyed or you can’t bounce back.
When you’ve embraced the right mindset, you’ve set yourself up to bounce back.
Instead of negative self-talk, remind yourself of your past victories. Stop catastrophizing everything. There are very few things that are fatal in your life and career. Everything isn’t going to be the end of you. Remind yourself of the times that you thought the world was ending, and then embrace the outcomes that you received in those challenging times.
Changing your mindset will change your life.
Cultivate a Supportive Network
A supportive network can help you bounce back quicker. These are the men and women you go to for encouragement and support. I’ve shared about my Band Of Brothers before.
Social support is crucial to resilience. You’ll be able to talk to the wise men and women in your life to hear their stories, and how they overcame the issues they’ve faced. You’ll be encouraged when you see that others have gone through the same situations you have and have made it out the other side.
To build a social support network, try the following:
- Become a regular at your local coffee shop. There are great connections you can make there.
- Join a church group. Maybe your church offers life groups or a men’s breakfast. Grow with these people.
- Find an online group that connects regularly. Share your stories with them and ask for help.
The more you reach out, the more connections you’ll make. The more connections you have, the more extensive your social network can be. The bigger your social network, the more wisdom can be poured into you.
Now, a supportive network won’t be able to solve all your issues. If you find yourself struggling with major issues, seek out professional help. There are counselors and therapists that can help you. Just as there’s no shame in building a supportive network of people around you, there’s no shame in seeking professional help when needed.
Practice Perseverance
Perseverance is the act of doing something difficult and still achieving success. That sounds a lot like resilience, right?
So, it stands that if you were to practice perseverance, you’d become more resilient.
Practice putting yourself in situations where you have to push through. The more you find yourself in situations where you have to work hard to succeed, the more you build up the muscle of resilience.
Here are a few things to try:
- Set challenging goals within a time frame.
- Get back up when you feel you’ve been knocked down.
- Take complex tasks and break them down into smaller steps. You’ll find yourself seeing big projects as being possible.
Perseverance is the stepping stone to being truly resilient. Persevere, and you’ll soon be a resilience master.
Learn from Failure
No one likes to fail. But failure is the master teacher. Your failures will lead you to resilience as long as you don’t let the failures keep you down.
When you fail, you can take a look at what you did. You can reflect upon your failures. This gives you the opportunity to figure out what went wrong, what could have been done differently, and show you that failure isn’t fatal.
Failure, if done right, can be fun. You’ll discover so much about yourself. You’ll also build up resilience to failure.
Failure is the master teacher. Learn from your failures and grow.
Understand Your Purpose and Values
Too many people give up because they lack a clear purpose and values. They allow their momentary uncomfortableness to get the best of them. When you have clearly defined purpose and values, they will guide you. Your feelings, your doubt, your failures will not.
Find your purpose. You can do this by digging deep into the Bible, journaling your thoughts and feelings, and asking those around you for feedback. The more you do these action items, the more you’ll find out who you are and what you value.
These values and purpose will drive you to get back up when you get knocked down. You’ll be able to reflect upon what you’ve defined as your values and purpose to know that you have to keep going.
Bounce Back
The best leaders bounce back. They don’t let life keep them down. They don’t let the past or mistakes define who they are.
When you’re feeling defeated, look back on the things discussed in this article. You’ll find a social network to hold you up, a purpose to keep you going, lessons from failure, a positive mindset, and perseverance.
You don’t have to stay knocked down. You can get back up. You can bounce back.
I know it. I believe in you.
