Bouncing Back From Challenges-Building Resilience

Who doesn’t know Mr Amitabh Bacchan and his dapper style? He is known as the Big-B of Bollywood for a reason. With his majestic voice and mesmerizing personality, he is a person one can look up to.

“That which lasts long is not easily got, that which is easily got does not last long”- Amitabh Bachchan

Having said that, the Padma Shri recipient is easily India’s biggest superstar; recognised and respected throughout the world for his immense talent and outstanding contribution to the film industry. However, his path to success was not a cakewalk.

During the early 70s, he was denied countless movie roles due to his unconventional looks and height, then he was rejected by the All India Radio due to his deep baritone, he delivered back- to – back flops at the start of his career and even fought for his life after a near-fatal injury on the sets of Colie in 1982.

Even after his rise to fame with Zanjeer, the actor struggled with bankruptcy and was even advised to shut down his production company.

Today it’s hard to think of the Indian film industry without getting Amitabh Bachchan in mind. But what if he had given up after his initial few failures? His inspiring life story forces us to retrospect and question ourselves- are we resilient enough to rise and overcome our challenges?

Who would disagree that J.K Rowling and Oprah Winfrey are the most resilient people?

J.K. Rowling worked in a restaurant as a waitress. She was on a government aid, after she got divorced. She could hardly afford to feed her baby in 1994. Yet she persisted and wrote her first book “Harry Potter”. She could not afford a computer or even have a photocopy of her 90,0000 word novel, so she manually typed the entire book and sent it to publishers. But she was rejected twelve times. She did not give up until finally Bloomsbury, a small London publisher, gave it a second chance after the CEO’s eight year-old daughter fell in love with it.

Oprah Winfrey we know today is an American talk show host, an author, a TV producer. But her childhood was filled with traumatic conditions and poverty. Her mother worked as a maid and she did not have a proper place to live. She was hated because she became pregnant at the age of 14 as she went through abuse. She took those hard times as challenges and worked her way up to completing her high school and college and finally started working as a TV host. When she started off on the radio, people ridiculed her and told her that her voice would not suit for being a host. But she persevered and climbed up the ranks to become the famous TV host of those times. She is now the most influential person, North America’s first black multi billionaire, and a greatest philanthropist. She now works for her own media channel- OWN.

What Is Resilience: A Journey From Suffering To Strength

“Resilience is the ineffable quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes” – Psychology Today

In simpler words, resilience can be defined as the ability to “bounce back”. It’s the tendency of a person to adapt, learn and think around an ongoing crisis.

So, now that you know the importance of resilience, the next question that pops on our mind is, do I possess this trait? If this is one of the questions that’s doing rounds in your mind, worry not as we have got you covered. In the next section, look out for the common traits and tick them off if you qualify. Ready? Let’s begin.

10 Traits Of Resilient People: Are You One Of Them?

Some common traits of resilient people are:

• They are calm and composed in a stressful condition
• They are persistent and committed to their goals
• They make realistic plans and take steps to carry them out.
• They can manage strong feelings and impulses.
• They are confident and have a sense of autonomy(self- sufficiency)
• They have good health-related habits.
• They are disciplined.
• They are self-aware and willing to learn.
• They have excellent problem-solving skills.
• They have good communication skills and strong relationships.

If you match all the characteristics, kudos to you. However, if you lack few or all of them, don’t lose heart as the next section attempts to help you develop these qualities from scratch.

10 Tips To Develop Resilience: Invoke The Best In You

How we look at and react to adversities affect how we succeed in life. Hence, a resilient mindset is a valuable trait to have. Luckily it is possible to train our mind to be stronger by making a few alterations in our lifestyle:

• Start by developing a sense of purpose in life by setting realistic goals.
• Start living a healthier lifestyle
  • Exercise regularly
  • Maintain a healthy diet
  • Go to sleep and get up early
  • Keep your work area and living space clean
• Develop stronger and more meaningful relationships.
• Start having an optimistic outlook in life.
• Learn about your abilities and shortcomings.
• Keep working on improving your skills and acquiring new ones.
• Welcome change; don’t be afraid of taking calculated risks.
• Develop your self-confidence.
• Find time to nurture yourself.
• Work on your problem-solving skills.

It is important to be resilient to be able to learn from our mistakes and cope with difficulty or loss in a healthy way. A non-resilient person might turn to destructive coping methods because they provide instant gratification.

Resilient people have a higher degree of life satisfaction and a generally positive outlook towards life, affecting the people around them in similar ways. Along with improving themselves, they guide and uplift the people they work and live with.

We hope this article has motivated you to become more resilient and start taking control of your life. Because we know workplaces are full of challenges and it is very vital for you to remain composed, focused and take challenges as a means to becoming a better self. With endurance, you will be able to bounce back from those challenges. This won’t happen overnight. It will take time, strength, patience, persistence and also help from your loved ones.
But in the end, you will emerge as a much more confident, self-sufficient and focused person. An example to others and an asset to society.