Resilience is the ability to withstand, adapt to, and recover from adversity and stress. Having resilience doesn’t mean we avoid sadness, disappointment, or failure. But people who are resilient bounce back more easily from roadblocks.
Positive psychologists have identified a number of traits and behaviors that are associated with resilience, including:
- A sense of meaning and purpose
- Optimism
- Gratitude
- The desire to help others
- Humor
- Social connection and support
- A willingness to confront and grow from challenges and fears
People with higher levels of emotional resilience have an easier time adapting to stressful situations or crises, with fewer negative effects. They’re able to bounce back more quickly from setbacks, and to take challenges in stride.
—Kristin Wilson, Chief Experience Officer at Newport Healthcare
We Can All Build Our Resilience
We each have different levels of the qualities associated with resilience, depending on our temperament and personality. However, we all have the ability to increase our levels of resilience through small changes in the way we live and the way we think. For example, we can increase our feelings of gratitude by focusing on the good things that happen to us, not just the difficult and painful experiences.
Another powerful way to build resilience is by identifying and activating our strengths. When we discover our own unique talents and character strengths, we can learn how to utilize these gifts to address daily challenges. Building healthy habits also promotes resilience—whether that’s physical exercise, meditation, time in nature, or connecting with friends.
Download the toolkit to get evidence-based strategies for building resilience that you can integrate into your daily life, with suggestions tailored toward parents, teens, and young adults.
Learn powerful, simple practices to enhance your well-being, including:
- Square Breathing to lower stress
- Supportive touch to build self-compassion
- How to start a Gratitude Jar, write a Gratitude Letter, and create a Gratitude Rock
- Ways to identify and activate your character strengths