Life, study and work can bring unexpected challenges and situations. By strengthening your resilience, you can approach them with a growth mindset, engage in your support networks and protect your mental health.
Here are five ways to grow your resilience and the self-assurance needed to face hard tasks.
- Know your strengths
If there is something that is keeping you down or you feel you can’t overcome, make a list of everything you know you are good at. Acknowledging your strengths is a great way to build up the self-confidence to tackle new obstacles. Try and apply your strengths to the situation you are facing as a way of rationalising the issue. You have the ability to use your strengths to overcome whatever setback you are facing.
- Celebrate your achievements
Recognising your achievements is important in developing self-confidence. Taking the time to reflect on your wins and successes allows you to appreciate your abilities. This is a great way to remind yourself of the versatility and expertise you can bring to a task when facing a difficult situation. Celebrating your accomplishments can lead to you being more optimistic when approaching new tasks – you accomplished a difficult task before, you can do it again!
- Manage your stress
Stress can make difficult tasks feel impossible. Although you can’t control what causes your stress, you can implement strategies to manage and minimise the stress you feel. Exercise and meditation are great activities to clear the mind and help you to feel in control. Having a sense of control over your actions can allow you to address tasks with a more level-headed approach. Other strategies such as getting adequate rest and doing activities you enjoy are a great way to manage stress; it’s all about finding what works for you.
- Approach problems with a plan
Difficult tasks can sometimes feel overwhelming. The best way to approach a difficult situation or task is to break it down into small sections. By completing a small section at a time or making a step in the right direction and being able to tick it off the list, the task becomes more manageable and less uncontrollable.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help
It is important to acknowledge when a situation is too much for you to handle on your own. Going to friends or family for help or to discuss your worries can be a great way to share your concerns and feel supported. Services such as Curtin’s Student Wellbeing Advisory Service, Beyond Blue, and Headspace are available to help if you feel overwhelmed. These services can help provide a safe space to talk and deliver relevant strategies for coping with your situation.
Resilience allows you to face difficult situations with a positive outlook and work through issues with healthy coping strategies. Applying this list to your everyday life can help build up resilience that you can draw upon when you need it.
