Emotional resilience is a term used to describe how well an individual adapts to stressful situations, setbacks or crises.

Origins of the Concept of Emotional Resilience

The concept of emotional resilience was originally constructed to measure the coping abilities of individuals involved in natural disasters. 

Threats To Emotional Resilience

Experiences that can threaten one’s emotional resilience include struggles with body image, heightened awareness of catastrophes and risks highlighted through the internet, pressures from family expectations, and domestic breakdowns, among others. 

Emotional Resilience Can Be Developed

Though some are born with more emotional resilience than others, it is a trait that can be developed by anyone.  Studies on successful people and corporations have shown that it is one of the most important qualities to work on.

Improving emotional resilience is managed by taking healthy risks, re-evaluating approaches to failure, and practising solution-focused ways to respond to setbacks.  When failure is experienced as shameful, it can be a paralysing experience.  When it is experienced as a means to an end, it can be a productive route to success.   Perception, therefore, plays a strong role in strengthening emotional resilience.

 

Emotionally resilient people tend to also have:

• Gratitude
• Creativity
• Flexibility
• Optimism
• Spirituality
• Emotional awareness
• A solution-focused approach
• A sense of humour
• Strong social networks
• Scheduled exercise and relaxation
• Consistent sleeping and eating patterns

These qualities and practices are further elaborated on in an upcoming blog post entitled, ‘Top 12 Qualities of The Emotionally Resilient’.

Persistence and Flexibility Matter Most

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

Darwin was considered an ‘average student’.  He is one of the examples used in a paper entitled, “The Positive Psychology of Persistence and Flexibility“, by psychologist Dr Paul Wong. From the most common traits of successful athletes and CEOs through to the most basic survival and resilience strategies, Dr Wong states that persistence and flexibility matter most. 

‘Persistence and flexibility are mega-life strategies’, states Wong, ‘because they enable us to manage ourselves and interact with the external world with a sense of freedom and security. We are able to persist and move forward without self-doubts when we know who we are and where we are headed. We feel free from anxiety and fear in the face of uncertainty because we are prepared to respond to any change without losing our way. Persistence and flexibility are always a winning combination’. 

How to PractiSe Emotional Resilience

There are a number of ways to practise emotional resilience, including developing a strong social network of supportive friends, especially those who are particularly skilled at dealing with stress and adversity.  Supportive friends and mentors can help to put things into perspective, laugh, and take enough of a break to put a situation in perspective. 

Another well-researched and historically underrated way to improve emotional resilience is to prioritise physical health.  This includes creating regular sleep patterns and eating healthy meals.  Healthy sleep and eating habits will provide the fuel and the mental clarity to successfully cope with difficult situations.  Physical activity is also an important part of improving emotional resilience.  Research has shown that consistent exercise (at least three times per week) lowers stress levels and improves mood. 

Other techniques include utilising support services such as counsellors and mentors, especially in times of crises.  When there are less critical failures and temporary setbacks such as a low grade on an exam or a significant sports defeat, it helps to look at the situation clinically, rather than emotionally.  What can be done to assess and correct the situation so that performance improves? 

Matthew Syed addresses this at length in his most recent book, Black Box Thinking.  We’ve been fortunate to have him speak at Queenswood this month on the most successful approaches to learning from failure.  You can read more about this in the blog post ‘The Importance of Learning from Failure’.

The good news is that instant success is a myth, and innate talent is no guarantee of goal achievement.  Emotional resilience, on the other hand, is strongly associated with success, and it’s something that can be improved upon almost immediately.