RESILIENCE

Labor employers place a high value on the ability to work under duress. When you go for an interview, the interviewer will ask you questions like, “What is/are your motivation(s) while working?” Have you ever felt so stressed out at your previous job that you wanted to quit, and what did you do when that happened? Are you able to work under intense stress? Their goal is to determine how resilient such a person will be on the job, particularly when faced with a particularly difficult situation at work.

Every employer seeks employees who are dedicated and capable of adapting to changes and difficult times while remaining focused on the goal.

“Resilience is a term used in psychology to describe the capacity of people to cope with stress and catastrophe. It is also used to indicate a characteristic of resistance to future negative events. This psychological meaning of resilience is often contrasted with “risk factors” – Wikipedia

There are various life challenges that can cause pressure, so pressure can come from home, work, or anywhere; living life comes with different pressures from different experiences and events. While some people succumb to such stress, others are able to persevere and learn from the unpleasant experience in order to improve. These are the people who are said to be resilient.

From individual to a group, there are four types of resilience;

Physical Resilience – This type of resilience refers to how the body recovers from physical stress and health problems such as illness, accident, age-related sickness and diseases, and so on. This type of resilience can be developed and enhanced by changing one’s lifestyle, getting regular medical checkups, having a strong will, and remaining positive.
Emotional Resilience – Some people are able to control their emotions in the face of stress and negative situations because they understand that these situations are temporary and will pass with time. Such people have emotional resilience; they draw strength from within and can control emotions like anger and other negative reactions that may arise as a result of a stressful situation.
Mental Resilience – This is the ability to be adaptable and remain calm in the face of change and uncertainty. Change and uncertainty are always negative for the brain, but some people can easily adapt to change and uncertainty; these people have mental resilience.
Social Resilience – This is also known as community resilience because it involves more than one person’s ability; it is the ability of a group of people to overcome a common negative situation. These people draw strength from one another, especially during times of crisis, such as cyclones, earthquakes, insecurity, or other natural disasters. These people come together after a negative incident to support one another, live through the situation, and offer long-term solutions to prevent a repeat of the situation, as the case may be.

Resilient people have some distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from the crowd. These distinguishing characteristics include:

– The ability to see themselves as survivors; they believe that nothing lasts forever and that every situation has an expiration date if one can hold on and not give up.

– Willingness to accept help and support from others. They are not afraid or embarrassed to seek assistance or support when necessary.

– Resilient people understand that they should not be too hard on themselves if they have to go through a difficult situation and come out on top.

– Resilient people do not show their emotions on their faces; they do not let fear or worry show on their faces because they know the situation will pass quickly.

– Resilient people are not afraid of problems; rather, they seek solutions to them when they arise.

While resilience is not necessarily inborn in some people, some have greater resilience than others, which may be due to upbringing, genetics, support from family and friends, past experiences, environmental influence, physical fitness, and so on.

The more stressful situations you successfully overcome, the better and more prepared you will be to face future challenges and stressful situations. This is how resilience is built.

Mariah Carey, one of my all-time favorite musicians, may have been referring to resilience when she sang a song called Hero, stating that the hero lies within you if you can search within your heart.

“And then a hero comes along

With the strength to carry on

And you cast your fears aside

And you know you can survive

So when you feel like hope is gone

Look inside you and be strong

And you’ll finally see the truth

That a hero lies in you”

-Mariah Carey

Sources

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-resilience-2795059