resilience

The word “resilience” is currently in vogue in society; people talk about it, more research is being done, even people tattoo it, but do you know what it means? We tell you ten things about this term.

1. The RAE defines it as “the ability of a living being to adapt to a disturbing agent or an adverse state or situation.” The term comes from physics since it consists of the ability of some metals to bend and return to their original or initial position when the pressure exerted on them ceases.
2. It is human strength, and the term can be understood from positive psychology. The person who was going through an adverse event took it adaptively was pathologized; now, it tends to be seen as a positive ability that the person can develop.
3. Many people have resilience when they believe that they will not be able to bear that adverse circumstance and that they are going to sink into their negative emotions. Given the moment, many people can go through an extreme or traumatic situation and resist it and even come out stronger.
4. Genetics do not definitively determine the presence or absence of this ability. Some personality factors can help in the development of this skill. This skill can be learned, although not everyone is capable of developing it. According to Gonzalo Hervás, between 30% -50% of people have this ability or can develop it at specific times.
5. One realizes that he has resilience when faced with an extreme situation and can overcome it and come out of it strengthened. Usually faced with an extreme situation, we are surprised by our ability to respond to the generated hostile environment.
6. Resilience can be facilitated by factors such as social support (both within and outside the family) from the environment closest to the person, which allows an excellent emotional expression, encourages confidence to cope with the situation and facilitates adequate support and welcoming of the person who goes through the adverse situation.

The ability to make personal or metaphysical meaning to the adverse experience in question can also help. Seeing beyond present suffering and anguish and being able to grow in the face of adversity is related to the term “resilience.” Personal protective factors, such as optimism, can help cushion the effect of an adverse event.

7. Being resilient is not incompatible with feeling negative emotions. We can suffer and feel negative emotions (such as anxiety, sadness, anger and fear) and be resilient. However, a resilient person is not carried away or possessed by these negative emotions but can control them when they need to use their resources to solve their problems.
   It is no coincidence that from previous years the World Economic Forum placed so much emphasis on a series of competencies to be developed for this year 2020; it spoke to us of 10 essential competencies or skills to be able to adapt more quickly to the changing environments that we would be living in this IVRI, within which Cognitive Flexibility is based on being able to be aware of our negative thoughts and to be able to restructure them to positive or adaptive ones.

But why is it necessary then to start developing and training our cognitive resilience and flexibility? Regardless of what you do, it is a reality that today, this crisis will be a watershed of changes, different ways of working, new business opportunities and changes in the economy.

Do you want to be prepared to join those who see the opportunities in this crisis? If so, I will leave you five tips that can help you put your resilience and adaptability into practice.

Seek to have good relationships with your environment: Something that has characterized this crisis in isolation, so it is essential that in your environment (family, friends, neighbours, co-worker, etc.) you seek to develop and maintain healthy and whole relationships, where you feel that you are an essential and valuable piece, that will motivate you to have positive thoughts.
Let us accept changes as something inherent in life: Changes are good, without them we would not have evolution or innovation, then start to see changes as allies in your life, thanks to them you will have new experiences, challenges and they will help you generate new strategies or have another vision of life, situations and it will bring growth for you.
Let's restructure our thoughts and change the paradigm that crises are "insurmountable": By changing that paradigm in us, we open the possibility of seeing and receiving things differently and seek a vision.

Broader vision and be aware that the things that stress you are temporary and design an action plan for it.
Set small smart goals: Seek to set small achievable, clear, measurable goals that create a challenge. Remember that to achieve great things, and it is crucial to start with small and firm steps; keeping your mind busy and motivated in small goals will help you adapt in an easier way to the situation of change you are living and emerge victorious from it.
Discover your full potential and connect with yourself: These moments are usually the best to be able to connect with yourself and your spiritual part, to explore dreams, see your strengths, awaken that creative side that you had not discovered due to lack of time or focus. It is time for you to see all that you can achieve when you know yourself and are in an upbeat tune. With this, you will come out of this situation more vital than ever.
Some authors believe that it is enough to demonstrate that you can recover from the specific extreme situation to be resilient. However, other authors consider that in addition to demonstrating this capacity for recovery and improvement, there must be personal growth on the person’s part, such as a revaluation of some aspects of life, greater strength for future adversities, greater self-confidence …

A relationship has been seen between resilience and the internal locus of control. People with an internal locus of control think that there is a close relationship between their behaviours or behaviours and their consequences. This way of thinking leads the person to believe that in the face of adverse events, they have tools and resources that allow them to face the demands of the hostile environment and control the negative emotions derived from it.