Resilience and Learning Perspectives

Resilience is a key skill. It means bouncing back from adversities and difficult life experiences. When you are faced with challenges, how do you handle them? Do you hide, adapt or jump into action?  Well, developing a new perspective can help.

Fixed and Growth Mindsets

Psychologists have found that resilient people have a “Growth” mindset as opposed to “Fixed” mindset. A growth mindset means that you talk and think in positive terms. Here are a few examples:

“I can achieve anything I put my mind to”
“Feedback from others can help me build my skills”
“I find other people’s success inspiring”
“I can learn to do anything I want”

If you have a fixed mindset, you tend to communicate to others and yourself in a less constructive way. Again, here are some examples:

“I shall never be good at this task. I want to give up”
“I do not want to be challenged”
“I find other people’s success frustrating”
“I am not good at learning”

How can You Develop a Growth Mindset?

Most of us quickly forget about the challenges we have overcome in our lifetime. Recalling your wins, successes and the obstacles you have handled could help you foster a more positive mindset. Why not set aside a few minutes to reflect on some of the challenges you have tackled in the past? When ready, put your list in a place where you will often see it. If faced with a difficult situation, simply recall how well you have already tackled knock-backs in the past. This will boost your confidence and help you see your situation from a more positive perspective.

How to Handle Criticism

Did you know that people often use insulting comments to others without being aware of it? They are completely blind to the hurt they cause by unfortunate choice of words or even facial expressions. Many people spend precious months and years brewing in resentment because of unintended hurt they experienced. Next time you receive criticism from others, ask yourself if there could be a small hint of truth in what the person is saying. Could their feedback help you polish your skills? If you think so, make a plan of action and commit to it. If you cannot find anything relevant or useful in their comment, dust yourself off and do not take things to heart.

How to Confidently Cope with Challenges

Having the resilience to handle challenges is easier when you are physically and emotionally recharged. Irregular meals, too much caffeine, insufficient sleep and lack of exercise in the fresh air can quickly result in feeling drained. Research shows that your confidence levels are directly related to your physical energy. The more you look after your physical well-being, the easier you will bounce back from setbacks. Physical nourishment is paramount for stable self-confidence.

Confidence is not something that we get from the outside. We all have a natural source of healthy self-confidence. Our task to dig deep, to tap into and to reconnect with it. If you care for your physical well-being, you will enjoy stronger self-confidence and resilience.