It’s not how hard you fall…
It’s how fast you bounce back- Listen here
None of us are immune from setbacks, in fact they say that its how you bounce back that is an indicator of your resilience. Without taking knocks on the journey, how would we learn about coping strategies, mental resilience, contingency planning and dare I say firefighting!? It builds an inner strength. Even with the best laid plans, situations outside of our control can hit us at any time (Covid19?).
You may not know that Albert Einstein (Nobel Prize winning physicist), couldn’t get a job in physics for two years after graduation, and worked as assistant patent examiner, passed over for promotion until he “fully mastered machine technology”.
What are the characteristics of people that have the ability to bounce back? How do you become mentally strong? The 4 C’s of Mental Toughness: (Turner, 2017), gave the following outline of mentally strong people…
- Gain back control of your life and the situation
- How much do you really want something. This may include setting powerful goals that you are committed to achieving
- You are committed to challenges…Its what drives you to succeed
- In yourself
How then do we develop those attributes…The T.E.A.R cycle that we use at Solution Focused, shows how are Thinking drives our Emotions, the Actions that we take, and the Results that we then get.
It starts with our thoughts…we have to change our thinking…Our minds create mental pictures, so we need to create positive word pictures, to help to change our mindset. This starts with our “self-talk” …the way that we talk to ourselves…At two ends of the scale, “helpful self-talk and hindering self-talk”. We need to visualize what success will look like and hold that mental image…Play the picture when we need to remind ourselves.
An affirmation…”I can and will overcome this…I am strong and my success, will make me stronger still”, at the same time with a picture of what success will look like, all the time supported by strong and powerful goals which give us the drive and determination to succeed.
Ultimately, we all have it within us to bounce back from setbacks…Do you have the tools and resilience?
“You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it’s important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.”
Michelle Obama