Seven steps toward being more 'resilient'

  • Published
  • By Capt. Stephanie Allison
  • 8th Medical Group
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  May's Pacific Air Forces Resilient Warrior campaign initiative focuses on "Perseverance" and the 8th Medical Group is here to assist. The goal of this month is to highlight the importance of overcoming difficulty, pressing on despite setbacks and developing resiliency to minimize the impact of future set backs. The concept of resiliency summarizes all of these. 
  
  Resiliency is one's ability to bounce back from difficult situations. When life's inevitable disappointments present themselves, how resilient will you be? 
  
  But there are ways one can strengthen their resiliency and persevere. Think about the following:

  1) Develop and communicate a resilient attitude of "what is right with me is more powerful than what is wrong with me." A positive, mental attitude can be one of your strongest assets when overcoming obstacles. Focus on strengths rather than weaknesses and how you can use those strengths to overcome problems. 
  
  2) Have patience and be kind to yourself when you make mistakes. Allow yourself to be human. Be careful of perfectionistic tendencies that can set you up for constant disappointment. If you set the bar so high that it's impossible to reach, you'll never win. 

  3) Maintain optimal physical and emotional health so that when stressful situations arise, you are better able to fight off symptoms. Exercise, a healthy diet and building a supportive group of friends are a great start. 

  4) Be sure to balance out the "have to" with the "want to" in your life. If you have positive and enjoyable things to look forward to, the difficult times will be easier to tolerate. 

  5) Make connections with people around you. The more lifelines you have, the easier it is to reach out when you need help. 

  6) Prioritize your life. Recognize what's important to you and put your energy in that area. Don't lose sight of your personal and professional goals while getting caught up in the moment. Along the same lines, don't put yourself in situations where set backs or disappointments are more likely to occur. 

  7) Be flexible. It's often what separates those who adapt and overcome from those who do not. Planning ahead is great, but sometimes we have to make changes on the fly. We all know life loves to throw curve balls our way when we least expect it.

  These are just some basics to boost your resiliency. Learn from your mentors how they deal with set backs and mentor those who are looking to you for the example.