At the beginning of 2020, all of us had plans chalked out for the year. We had our goals set, projects that we wanted to work on and places we wanted to travel to. However, did things work out according to our plans? How did you feel when they didn’t?
Dealing with change is an inevitable part of life and with so much uncertainty around us, it has become increasingly important to develop coping mechanisms to handle change and adversity.
In such situations, one of the most important skills that you can develop is to build resilience as it can help you cope with change and handle challenges effectively, especially in your workplace.
Resilience is the ability to be happy and bounce back after something difficult or unpleasant has happened. Building resilience improves your ability to handle work stress better, improves your mental health and results in increased job satisfaction.
Here are five tips that you can follow to build resilience at your workplace:
1. Focus on the things you can control: We often spend far too much time worrying about situations and people that we cannot control. If we rather resolve to focus on what we can control, it will help us deal better with our behaviour and reaction to people and situations.
2. Maintain a positive mindset: When things get difficult at the workplace, it’s understandably hard to maintain a positive mindset. However, if we can alter a negative mindset, it helps us take on challenges with ease. One way of doing this is to consciously focus on solutions and not problems.
3. Build a good support system: Having a good support system allows you to confide in people who can listen without being judgmental and empathize with you. Reach out to a family member or peer when things get difficult at work.
4. Focus on your health: When was the last time you prioritised yourself overwork, family and other commitments? Being caught up with hectic work schedules and stringent deadlines, we often forget to look after ourselves. Spending time working on our body and emotional well-being is crucial in managing stress.
5. Engage in positive activities: All of us have different coping mechanisms and activities that we do to relieve stress. Identify yours and engage in these activities to help you overcome your negative emotions. Simple things like laughing with friends or watching a comedy movie are some of the easiest ways of dealing with stressful situations.
In an increasingly stressful world, building resilience is the need of the hour. Being resilient does not indicate the absence of problems or suffering, but it helps us cope better with emotional turmoil and hold positive views about ourselves and our surroundings.
In the upcoming workshop on ‘Building Resilience and Coping with Criticism’ on Friday 16 October, we will explore some more strategies to reframe our beliefs and behaviour and become more resilient.