How resilient
am I? Good question... I had never thought about this until I participated in a women’s event
where the Resilience Institute program
was presented. But what does it mean to be resilient? On the web we can find
several definitions that resume into the capability “to recover from or adjust
easily to change” or “to bounce back to an original state”.
With an
increasing curiosity on the topic, this week I followed a full day Practical
Resilience workshop from the Resilience Institute consisting of understanding
what resiliency is, knowing my personal resiliency ratio today, learning the
techniques to become more resilient, and defining a priority list and an action
plan to take me there.
It was a day
well spent for the learning, the experience and the exchange with the coaches
and the other participants. The approach was very pragmatic with relaxation
exercises and short group assignments.
I learned
that with small changes in our daily routines and habits we can easily improve
our physical, mental and spiritual condition. For example, exercising daily or
at least stretching 5 minutes per day; waking up early and at the same time
every day including on weekends (of course, with time we will eventually also
start going to bed early); eating balanced and healthy foods that energize
without surcharging the digestive system; and allowing the body and the mind to
recover through short breaks for good breathing throughout the day. To
summarize, I learned that I can increase my resiliency through sleep,
nutrition, exercise and relaxation.
You may be thinking
– so what? Nothing new… Indeed, it seems only good common sense that helps us
live healthier and happier. So why are most of us not doing all of this
already? Or why are we only covering one piece of the puzzle? Are we lazy or
undisciplined? I admit sometimes I am both…
In the
company I work I hear more and more news of colleagues who reached the burnout
state which lies at the bottom of the lower part of the Resilience spiral. It
is by recognizing the risks and the signals early enough, and knowing when and
how to “bounce back” that we can prevent the negative effects of stress and
ultimately avoid a burnout.
Another key contributor
to resilience is emotional intelligence, the way we manage our emotions. Many
years ago we were hearing only of the IQ (intellectual quotient). Some decades
ago we started hearing about the EQ (emotional quotient), particularly relevant
to leadership positions. Understanding, being aware and managing one’s emotions
is extremely important to establish and maintain personal and professional
relationships, and therefore contributes to higher resiliency.
I am now
convinced that resiliency training and practice can do wonders to everyone,
especially in the most developed countries where the negative effects of
today’s overloaded, stressful life, filled with unhealthy habits and routines
are most prominent. Resilience knowledge and practice is not only valuable for
own individual good, but also to support those who manage and lead other people
in being alert and acting on time to prevent disengagement, lower performance
and burnout and, gradually, increase engagement and performance.
The
Resilience Institute workshop I attended took place in a wonderful, charming
hotel in front of Lake Geneva, in Switzerland. The room was big with big
windows offering natural light and a view to the lake. The coffee breaks were
very well served with healthy snacks, fruit juice, coffee and tea. The meal
served at lunch was balanced, well prepared and presented, and offered a great
opportunity for networking with my peers and coaches.
First thing the
coaches asked participants to do in the morning was to note down our individual
intentions (not the expectations) for the day, and to keep the paper in the
pocket. I wrote that I wanted to learn how to be more resilient, to relax, to
have a good time, and to return home with a big smile. At the end of the workshop,
when I unfolded my paper I realized I had actually achieved my list of
intentions. What a great day!
Acting on my
sleep, namely waking up every day at 7:00 was part of my priority actions
towards higher resiliency over time. It’s hard to keep this routine on
weekends, but I’m trying hard not to deviate (much) and today I woke up at
7:30. So far the day has been very productive for the family. We already
accomplished many things and I am particularly happy for having had the time to
write this text.
PS. If you
are following my story about Appreciative Inquiry, it is not over yet – I will
post on the subject again soon.
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