Why We Need to Build Our Resilience—Now!

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When you actually stop and pause (do you stop and pause?), do you feel tired or overwhelmed, disappointed, lacking motivation, energy or generally just a bit sad or down?

The Germans have a useful word: Weltschmertz. It roughly translates as world-sadness/tiredness/pain.

And ever since COVID, our world has become a more challenging place: more Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA). It’s a thing.

There was a brief stretch of ease and relief once COVID restrictions were lifted and we began to get back to ‘normal’ life. But let’s be honest, life has never been less normal!

And it’s really important to acknowledge these changes and challenges—because they’re impacting us whether we like it or not.

Societal Changes and Challenges

Consider some of the really big things that have changed (or grown) in our world since COVID:

War and geographical instability. For example, Ukraine and Israel/Gaza.
An increase in extreme and unusual environmental disasters and weather effects.
Increased cost of living (including power, water, groceries and housing): most of us are feeling harder times.
Dwindling community. People are turning inwards. Many local businesses have closed. Community groups are struggling to stay afloat.
Increasing numbers of people with decreasing mental health (although at least it’s now being talked about).
People are more divided than ever, especially over politics, healthcare, policing and other key areas of civic life.
The gap between the rich and the poor is increasing. Big corporations are ever more powerful and untouchable in their greed.
As humans, we are firmly distracted by technology (social media, apps, gaming, online shopping, entertainment and more).
And AI. Yes, it’s a real thing costing our fellow humans their jobs and changing the way we work (there’s a lot more to come, this is early days).

And that’s just the big stuff.

Which, obviously, is on top of any personal challenges and issues in our lives!

I find myself looking back, almost nostalgically, for the pre-COVID times.

You may wonder why I’m ‘focusing’ on all these ‘negatives’?

Well, I want to draw them out into the open. To acknowledge that while COVID is over, life and our world is more challenging than ever.

Plus, what makes this extra-challenging is that we have very little control (if any) over these wider societal changes. And that—in itself—is stressful.

And the impact of all this change adds up. On us, and the people around us.

Knowledge is power

In this awareness of difficulty, there is power.

Because when we deny how we feel, or pretend everything is OK, our feelings can drag us down making us feel literally ‘depressed’. Over time those feelings build up, and then they erupt—usually at a time when we least want to feel vulnerable.

So we can pretend it’s not happening. Or we can be courageous and say, yes, there are a lot of things going on in the world that are worrying and upsetting.

Then, once we’ve acknowledged that truth (and how it makes us feel), NOW we can take action. We can work to take action, take care of ourselves and build our resilience.

And a side benefit of acknowledging difficult truths is that we also connect with (instead of abandoning) our authentic self. So even though it’s hard, it feels good—and real. Because:

There is power in realising: Oh that’s why I’m feeling mad/bad/sad.
When we share with others there is comfort in recognising: It’s not just me! Other people are feeling this too.
And this gives us the energy and motivation to ask: What can/should/will I do?

Something we can all do is learn to consciously develop our resilience.

So, what is resilience?

Resilience is our ability to cope and adapt to one-off stressful events and adversity.
Resilience is also our capacity to adjust to, manage and rise above ongoing challenges and difficulties: it’s about finding a healthy way of being that works for us in the long-term.
Finally, while resilience is about adapting to whatever happens in our lives, at its best, resilience strengthens us as we transform ourselves by learning from our difficulties.

As our long-term continues to look uncertain and challenging, now more than ever, we need to learn to create inner stability, strength and vitality: resilience.

And we do this not just for ourselves, but for the people we care most about AND the people we support through our roles or careers.

The good news is that resilience is a skill

And that means we can learn and grow it. Resilience is a way of approaching life and events. It’s:

A mindset—a way of thinking about ourselves, our life and our world. It’s how we approach our life and the events in it.
A practice—the things we habitually do, plus the steps we take when things are not going so well.

Develop Your Resilience

So you can develop your resilience. And we want to help! This is the first in a series of articles where we’ll look more deeply at 10 key ways (from the practical to the inspired) to consciously grow our resilience:

A Strong Mindset.
Cultivate Your Aliveness.
Take Control of Your Destiny.
Make Your Life Meaning-Filled.
Build Community.
Take Excellent Care of Yourself!
Connect with your Courage.
Get Organized.
Find and Create Beauty.
Be an Instrument of Peace (Be Kind).

Watch for the next article next week !

Wrap-up

Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle. Christian D. Larson

Things just don’t make sense the way they used to. All around us things are getting harder—and weirder.

Yet we have more power than we realise to influence our reality and take control of our lives. There is much we can do to set ourselves up for joy and happiness—and feel good about the life we have.

And you absolutely can build your resilience so that when things go wrong or you feel down, you still take care of—and believe in—you.

Change the world. Start with you!

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Image of Confident, thoughtful and resilient woman on a gold background by Kraken Images