Building Resilience

If you are human, you—like all of us—experience different stressors.

I wish that we didn’t, but we do.

One concept is especially helpful to consider when we think about how we each handle the stressors. It comes from an article by John Townsend, who you might recognize as the co-author of “Boundaries.”

He defines resiliency as “the capacity to adapt to a stressor and return to normal functioning.”

In this definition, normal can mean the ability to maintain relationships, experience positive mood, and complete work and personal tasks. He points out that resilience is not merely a gift that some people possess; it is also a skill that can be learned. Whew! What a relief.

In his article, he outlines the answer for how to bounce back from stress:

  • Stay connected or become connected to good people
  • Engage in meaningful work.
  • Maintain daily structure.
  • Recognize what percentage of the stressor is from you, from others, and what percentage is from living in an imperfect world.

Written by: GROW Staff