What can help us hang on and keep going, persevering in the face of obstacles, opposition or failure? In other words, what can help us remain resilient? It can be argued, and it has been my experience, that, to a large degree, the battle for resilience takes place in the mind.
One of the simplest yet perhaps most effective resilience boosters is finding the proverbial silver lining in the clouds, thinking of potential benefits for ourselves or others that can result from whatever is causing us grief at this moment. An example that comes to mind is that of a man who was waylaid by a serious sickness and had his whole career come to a halt. Instead of giving into angry and depressive thoughts, he decided that he was being afforded time to step away from the rat race and get off the relentless conveyor belt that kept him busy all day long in ways that did not create meaning in his life. During his recovery time, he delved into researching areas of interest he had neglected since his early 20’s. Doing so was not always easy, but he persevered. As a result, he ended up with creating a new professional future for himself, an area where he leveraged his passions and his strengths, and where he found joy.
This potential benefit may even remain an unknown and unconfirmed imagined supposition. I remember the person who told me a while back that instead of losing heart and giving up on a project due to a delay that caused a major disruption in her life, she said, “Perhaps if I never had this delay, I would have been in a major accident.” She will never know for sure if that is the case. However, because she saw good in the situation, she remained resilient and kept going instead of wasting energy and wearing herself down by fretting and complaining about the disruption.
Another person said, “I may never know why this is happening, but I am going to choose to trust that it is all for good.” This is an example where a positive, optimistic, and hopeful outlook can be a lifesaver, at least a “quality of life” saver.
Such an outlook takes practice to develop and maintain in the face of adversity. So, let’s start today. What in your life irks you right now, but you’re going to choose to believe that benefits can result from it, sooner or later, and either for you or for others, if only you hang on and keep making wise choices? Even if the benefit of being resilient in this way may only be a more upbeat mindset and an elevated mood, that by itself is very much worth it.
