From our first breath to our first steps to our first inevitable bumps, bruises and scrapes, we are taught to protect our bodies. Most of us enter this world with the help of doctors and nurses as we get our first glimpse of the exciting, and somewhat terrifying, world we will spend the rest of our days living in.
From that first hospital visit, we continue to return for preventative care. We endure being poked and prodded and then head home, seatbelts on, of course. Our health lessons continue as we are taught how to tie our shoes so we don’t trip, walk on the sidewalk to avoid cars, brush our teeth for good dental hygiene and drink water to nourish our bodies.
But rarely do childhood lessons teach us how to protect our mental health.
Even now, as advanced as parenting (and Google) has become, information about childhood mental health is sparse, especially relative to preventative care.
As we grow into adulthood, those health lessons become habits, making it even more challenging to change our perspective and focus on our mental well-being as much as we do our physical. This is a shame because nurturing mental well-being results in elevated physical health as well.
One of the ultimate ways to nurture well-being is by building mental resilience.
Mental and physical health is built upon a strong foundation of resilience. For leaders, this means encouraging employees to understand why resilience is so important and implementing strategic ways to develop it at work. This starts with expert guidance from a resilience keynote speaker who will help develop a roadmap for you and your organization toward building a culture of resilience at work. Taking this step will lead to happier employees, increased productivity and greater success for your organization.
Why Is Resilience Important to Our Team’s Overall Well-Being?
Escape rooms are popping up everywhere these days, and if you’ve ever done one, you understand the feeling of being stumped and unable to solve the final clue needed to beat the clock and escape to freedom.
In the game of overall well-being, resilience is the clue you need to win.
Similar to how the clues in an escape room build off one another, so too does resilience. Resilience supports growth, helps you and your team learn from past mistakes and cultivates a healthy lifestyle. It enables people to remain motivated during tough times, persevere in the face of uncertainty and create innovative solutions when problems arise. Building emotional resilience gives your organization the strength needed to bounce forward through any challenges.
By developing holistic resiliency, you will also become change-proof, which is important because change is always on the horizon.
How Does Resilience Affect Our Mental Health and Well-Being?
Experiencing tough times is part of living. And unfortunately, that is out of our control. However, we can control how we navigate those difficulties. Building emotional resilience in all aspects of life – mental, emotional, physical and spiritual – is necessary to create inner strength that will allow us to not only survive but to thrive.
Building mental resilience cultivates traits crucial to well-being, such as courage, strength, tenacity and grace. And practice makes progress. When we implement ways to build resilience into our daily routines, our ability to remain calm, respond thoughtfully and bounce forward through setbacks increases.
Resilience is the key to unlocking peace of mind, self-awareness and a profound belief in our ability to handle anything that comes our way.
5 Strategies to Develop Resilience and Improve Well-Being
Imagine building anything without instructions. It might be fun, but most likely, the end result will not be what you (or the designer) expected. Unless you’re an expert, it’s crucial to have plans to follow during the building process.
The following five strategies are the plan you need to build resilience at work and in life. Incorporating these ways to build resilience into your daily routine will result in a remarkable improvement in your overall well-being.
1. Take Care of Yourself
Taking care of yourself is the first and most important step in your journey toward building resilience. First, you should identify the path you wish to follow. Ask yourself what nourishes your soul and energizes your mind and body. That may be physical exercise, a regular sleep schedule or creating time for self-reflection.
When you discover what speaks to you, it’s important to listen.
Put as much emphasis on restorative activities as you do on other aspects of your life. Taking time to focus on yourself maximizes your productivity, effectiveness and happiness. Create a harmonious work-life balance by making self-care a priority.
2. Evaluate Your Daily Routine and Environment
As you go about your day, take a moment to pause and evaluate. Do you feel motivated and energized? Or stagnant and disconnected? You might be surprised to discover that making changes to your daily routine and environment can help you develop resilience.
Incorporating healthy activities into your routine and creating a calming atmosphere can elevate your mood, leading to a sustainable, positive outlook.
Some ways to infuse positivity into your routine and environment include eating nutritional meals, making time for physical activity, getting a good night’s sleep, fostering meaningful relationships, implementing effective time management skills and organizing your work and living space in a way that brings you a sense of calm.
Even small changes will holistically enrich your physical and mental well-being and are crucial components of an overall transformation.
3. Practice Mindfulness
While it might feel like there is not enough time in each day to be present, doing so will increase your energy, leading to greater productivity. Taking time to practice mindfulness is an incredibly powerful way to build resilience and increase well-being. It develops emotional strength and evokes feelings of peace so that when difficulties arise, you are equipped to bounce forward through them.
Mindfulness must be learned. This means making a plan to strategically implement it into your daily routine until it becomes second nature. Over time, you will discover that being mindful of the present moment – the sensations, emotions, thoughts and actions – will unlock profound insights and accelerate mental resilience. This will result in a greater sense of self, as well as the ability to make thoughtful decisions and retain conscious control of your life.
4. Get Out in Nature
There is a whole world out there filled with natural wonder and vibrant beauty waiting to be explored. If you think of experiencing nature as a means to cultivate resilience, it may make it easier to find time to escape outdoors for a much-needed and well-deserved break from technology and the grind of your daily routine.
You may be wondering how getting outside helps build resilience and affects your overall mental health. The benefits that a change in scenery and sunshine, fresh air and physical activity offer your mind, body and soul are phenomenal. Spending time in nature can calm your senses, elevate your spirit, increase your energy and help you relax and be more mindful. Stepping out of your routine and into nature will leave you feeling inspired, purposeful and happier than ever.
5. Pay Attention to Your Connections and Relationships
From the moment we enter the world, we crave connection. The connections we foster through the relationships we build become even more necessary and meaningful as we encounter the inevitable challenges that life throws our way. The resilience we need to bounce forward is strengthened by our connection with others.
Investing in profound and important relationships through mutual understanding, empathy and support is imperative to living a life filled with joy, clarity and trust. Resilience affects mental health in countless positive ways. Building strong connections by creating a support system to lean on and offering the same in return is a key component of elevated physical and mental health.
How Can a Resilience Keynote Speaker Help Build Emotional Resilience?
Recognizing why resilience is important and implementing changes to your life in order to build it are critical. As a leader, you may be thinking, “But how does resilience affect mental health?” Encouraging your team to build resilience not only positively affects your employees’ mental health for their own well-being, but it also increases your organization’s overall productivity.
And just like doctors taught us as children how to protect our bodies, you can be the guide that helps your team understand why resilience is important and how building it helps protect their mental health and overall well-being. The most strategic way to do this is to engage a resilience speaker who will help increase understanding of resilience at all levels and encourage your team to develop personal resilience techniques that work best for them. Seek out a resilience speaker with the expertise to demonstrate to your team how to build resilience that positively affects their mental health. And most importantly, find a resilience speaker who can do so in a nurturing and friendly manner.
Lead your team on a journey of increased mental well-being by building resilience with a knowledgeable, passionate and caring resilience speaker.