Category Archives: Resilience

Resilience & Thriving in Times of Change

Fear.  Crises. Worries. These words have been flooding the media of late. Perhaps they have been flooding your consciousness too. Many, many millions of people worldwide have felt themselves a victim of these challenging times. Have you been letting fear hijack your life? Did you know you have another choice?

Good news! The dark clouds of these incredibly challenging times have a silver lining. You can use the very forces which may have seemed insurmountable to take stock of your resiliency factor. Why? So that you rediscover the inner strengths that will help you through these troubling times. And, you can purposefully build your resiliency for all future life challenges too.

Where do you start to take action? At Bold New Directions, we use the S.U.P.P.O.R.T. model in our highly acclaimed training program which builds professional resilience and the capacity for teams to thrive in times of change.

To start, just choose one of these seven areas to work on that makes the most sense to you.

1. “S” stands for Stress Hardiness. First, write a short inventory of your personal and professional stressors so you are conscious and clear about what is impacting your life. Second, also write an inventory of all the positive forces in your life (i.e. relationships, rewarding aspects of work, hobbies…) Assess the balance.

2. “U” stands for Understanding. Look deeply into your inner and outer worlds. Get clear about your unique strengths and weaknesses. Using the list of stressors you created above, describe what negative impact they have on your thoughts, feelings and actions. Then check in about all those positive forces you mentioned. Be specific with yourself about how they positively guide your thoughts, feelings and actions.

3. “P” stands for Purpose & Meaning. Do you consciously have a “life purpose”, a clear knowing of why you are here? Write a short “My life purpose is…” statement. Are you on track?

4. “P” stands for Perseverance. If you’ve had a clear, defined life purpose, how has it fueled your perseverance with regard to your goals? If you have not had a known life purpose, what do you imagine has been the effect on your life by being rudderless?

5. “O” stands for Optimism. For one full day, create a special mindfulness aboutthe quantity of your positive and negative thoughts. Which of these produce positive and negative feelings? Get better at consciously choosing thoughts, feelings and actions that produce the results you want.

6. “R” stands for Resourcefulness. Look more closely at how you live in the following areas.

a) Mental; are you more resistant or more open minded to new ideas from others and yourself?

b) Emotional; do you begrudgingly give of your time and efforts or are you big heartedly generous?

c) Physical; are you taking care of your nutrition, exercise and sleep in ways that make you weaker or stronger?

d) Spiritual; do you live with a sense of isolation and separation or a connection with something bigger than just your self?

7. “T” stands for Team. Who are your teams or communities in life? Research consistently reports that our resilience quotient is directly linked to how small or large our connections to others are. What are the results of your involvement or lack of involvement in communities?

Imagine what it would be like if all seven areas of S.U.P.P.O.R.T. were strong and getting stronger in your life. What would your resilience be like for thriving in these and future times of change?

This is just the first in a series of articles on increasing your resilience for leading stronger, healthier, and happier lives. Do one or more of the above exercises and stay tuned for next steps.

Visit us at https://boldnewdirections.com http://www.resiliencetraininginstitute.com

Author’s Bio: Jim Hornickel is Co-Founder of Bold New Directions, a transformational learning company that specializes in Training,  Coaching, Retreats and Keynotes. His long professional career and areas of  expertise include 20 years of managing and supervising, consulting, life and  leadership coaching and counseling. Jim is also one of the facilitators for   all nine Bold New Directions’ programs including, Resilience at Work and Thriving in Times of Change (for Teams).

Visit https://boldnewdirections.com or http://www.resiliencetraininginstitute.com for more information on these and other programs on Leadership,  Communication and Resilience.

Nurturing a Positive Sense of Expectancy

Looking back over my career, it is clear that the attitudes and beliefs that I brought to my situation impacted my resilience at work.  Becoming more conscious of personal approaches to challenging situations expands our ability to be resilient.

In my twenties, as a young manager I often felt overwhelmed by my workload.  Unfortunately, I brought that view with me each day.  Frequently, I barely struggled through one set of problems only to find another set of problems waiting for me.  This pattern led to the creation of a negative attitude about what each day would bring.  I awoke each morning feeling a sense of doom about the day, which led to a perception that the day would not go well.  And, of course starting with that negative outlook, most often the day did not go well.

By the time I hit my thirties, I began to see the light.  A wise and gentle colleague asked one day if I had ever thought to consider situations in terms of Solutions rather than Problems.  It took only a moment for her to ask the question, and only a moment for me to realize the full significance of what she was asking.  I was clearly looking at much of my life in a problem-oriented manner.  It was as if I was attracting problems just by anticipating them.  I started that day to shift my thinking from problems to solutions, from a “too hard!” perspective to a “too easy!” point of view.

Today in my 40’s, I see the benefit of starting each day with a positive sense of expectancy.  A sense that there will be many opportunities unfolding each day;  a sense that there is no problem so big that does not have a bigger solution.  And wonderfully, this positive sense of expectancy works!  Most days are now filled with good experiences, good outcomes, and perhaps most importantly, good feelings about life.

Nurturing a positive sense of expectancy is one of the many tools you can use to enhance your resiliency at home and in the workplace.   There are many other tools that will help you thrive!  Take a look at  www.boldnewdirections.com to learn about programs to improve Workplace Resilience.

 

Bold New Directions is a transformational learning organization based in Massachusetts, USA.  Co-founded by Jim Hornickel and Suzanne Guthrie, both experienced trainers and coaches, Bold New Directions offers transformational learning via Leadership Training, Communications Training, and Resiliency Programs.  Fortune 500 companies are amongst our many clients who have loved our landmark programs including Think On Your Feet®, Transformational Leadership™, Situational Frontline Leadership and Resilience At Work™.