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This weeks
Article....
Building
Resilience
6 tools to bouncing back in
tough times, how to do it
I turn on the TV and if it is
not a political ad it’s a news broadcast
about the disastrous economy and plenty
of fear mongering.
Unfortunately I talked to one of
my clients today and they just laid off 6
out of 30 people! That’s 20%! Yes things
are getting a bit tougher for
some.
What about you? Are you up to
the challenges in your business and
industry? Are you able to bounce back and
come out ahead of the pack instead of
being a victim?
Being resilient in tougher times
can be the difference between victims and
winners. So what is this resilience and
how do I get it?........
To answer that and provide you
some insight, I’m sharing a bit of
Vince
Harris’snew book, The
Productivity Epiphany; 55 Key
ideas to put you in charge of your life,
direction and
success.
Dr. Beverly Leipert decided to study a group of
women who have always had it “tough”; she chose
to conduct a study on resilience, studying the
women who had spent their lives living
separated from others, enduring month after
month of brutal cold …the women of the frozen
North.
Each of
the women in Dr. Leipert’s study had lived much
of their lives in the rugged terrain of
northern British
Columbia. These
women had lived with a rather unique set of
risk factors; the bitter cold, attitudes
regarding gender, threats posed by local
wildlife, and very limited resources. These
were not sporadic risks, they were simply a way
of life, and were present each
day.
After Dr. Leipert had compiled her findings,
she discovered the three main strategies that
were responsible for their resilience: Becoming
what she called “hardy”, making favorable
meanings or “stories” about their situation in
the North, and supplementing what the North had
to offer.
Each of these women had learned to become self
reliant, had followed various spiritual or
religious beliefs, had developed a liking for
the outdoor activities like camping, fishing
and skiing, learned indoor activities like
painting, sculpture, or quilting, and had
decided to volunteer for community groups and
activities.
Notice that each of the actions or behaviors
above were learned, or chosen. The resilience
they had developed was not some genetic gift or
spontaneous phenomenon, they had taken active
roles in creating the experience of the life
they were living, and the level of resilience
they had developed.
Great, so what does this have to
do with me and today’s financial
debacle?
There are several keys here that
can give you an edge over your
competition, the economy and what life
throws at us. Here is a short
list…..
-
Resilient people
are flexible. They understand that
they can change themselves but generally
are unable to dramatically change the
environment. No, planting palm trees in the
frozen north will not make it a sunny
beach. So they focus their flexibility
inward and work on themselves rather than
invest energy in complaining about the
environment. How could you be more
flexible?
-
Resilient people
are action oriented. They find or
develop ideas or activities that can add
value to their lives and the lives of
others. No stewing about what they can not
do, rather discovering what they can do.
Then they get into action even if everyone
else is sitting and stewing. What could you
put into action
today?
-
Resilient people
have variety. They have many
varied interests and activities rather than
have their entire world wrapped up in one
activity, such as work or success. The
women in the study did many things
everyday; it gave them purpose without
burnout. What could you get involved
in?
-
Resilient people
are creative. They step back and
ask what could be rather than what could
have been. By looking for even the smallest
opportunities, they stay ahead of the crowd
and are constantly building or developing
something of value. How could you turn on
more of your
creativity?
-
Resilient people
find internal joy. They understand
that joy and happiness are not something
that comes from outside. They do not look
for others to make them happy, rather they
find joy in what they do, what they create
and what they can change; even in the
smallest measure. Where does your joy come
from?
-
Resilient
people have faith and
belief. They believe in
themselves and in what can be. This
does not mean they sit around and
wish and dream all day, rather they
approach the situation with
confidence that there is a solution
or opportunity! They just have to
scratch long enough to find it! How
could you develop more faith and
belief?
So what does this mean to you in
this potentially negative
economy?
Take each of the 6 points and
apply it to what you are doing
today.
-
Are you being
flexible?
-
What actions are you
taking?
-
Are you trying something new
or different?
-
Everyone is creative, are
you applying it?
-
Where is your joy and
happiness coming from?
-
Do you believe you
can?
Congratulations to those of you
that answer yes to all 6. For those of
you that had few no’s, you now know where
to put your effort.
I state
this: If you consciously apply
the 6 resilient characteristics every
day, you will come out better than 80% of
the population! Others will wonder how
you do it! How do you remain so calm and
happy in spite of all that is happening?
By the way, you will most likely also
make more money, more sales and get more
promotions!
Be on the look out for more
information on Vince’s new book. We hope
to have it available in the next
month.
Till next week! Make it the
greatest week as only you can!
Harlan
Goerger
© Harlan Goerger, October
2008
Reprint in its entirety is
allowed
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