Resilience and Work

One of the traits for success in business is resiliency. Resilience is the ability to adapt and rebound when plans or schedules don't go as they should. Part of resiliency is being able to quickly analyze a situation. If a mistake has been made, learn from it and move on. No need to dwell on the situation for a long period.

A leading psychologist has researched resilience and found there are three factors that are necessary to have resilience:

• Commitment
• Challenge
• Personal Control

Commitment: resilient people are goal orientated. They are committed to their goals, not necessarily the path to get there; plans or directions may need to be altered or changed completely. Resilient people do not view mistakes as a negative reflection on their abilities or self worth. Commitment and positive reflection can be one of the difficult parts for the bipolar individual to accept and adapt to. Trying to commit to a relationship or a new friendship might work better as a learning situation than in a business capacity. Due to the type of feedback and the tolerance from friends and loved ones, you will receive more information from a personal relationship than typically seen in a business relationship. This will allow a trial and error period the bipolar or depressed individual can try before attempting commitment in the business situation.

Challenge: is what resilient people call a “non-difficulty.” Resilient people try not to perceive events as earth shattering or paralyzing. For some individuals, getting up in the morning can be a challenge. To the resilient, this is a non-difficulty or may just be an occurrence. Going to work or that “big meeting” where you have to give a presentation can be events. The resilient way of thinking determines whether a potential obstacle ends up as a opportunity for growth or brings you down to a feeling of failure.

Personal Control: is the final factor. Those individuals, including those with depression or bipolar disorder, spend time worrying about events that cannot be controlled. These people may feel lost and powerless to take any action. The resilient person spends their time and more importantly their energy focusing on participating in events and situations than having control over it. Resilient people don't think of themselves as victims. They assess a situation and focus on changing the things they have control over; such as driving to a meeting and learning about traffic delays. Knowing ahead of time the directions or the way around the delay.

Resilient people have a positive image of the future and maintain a positive outlook. Resilient people have sound goals and a way to achieve them. Resilient people are compassionate and maintain healthy relationships. They don't worry much about what others think of them as much as they believe in themselves and in their personal efforts.

My next blog post will focus on how to develop resilience.