Resilient mindset

We all know people who are always positive and happy, floating on a cloud through their sunshine-filled lives. We wonder why they have it so easy, but what we often don’t see is that their positivity doesn’t come from a trouble-free life, but rather from their resilient mindset. These seemingly carefree people have actually learned ways to build resilience and cultivated how to love life.

The happiest and most resilient people don’t cry about rain during a storm—they look for puddles to splash in while searching for the rainbow. 

This can be especially true in the workplace, where the only predictability is unpredictability. At work, you may not have control over the tasks you complete or who you interact with, but you do have control over your mindset. Successful leaders help their employees cultivate a positive mindset and build resilience. One way to do this is to bring in a resilience speaker.

Why is Resilience Important in the Workplace?

The brilliance and beauty of a rainbow wouldn’t exist without rain, since it’s a reflection of the sun’s light on water droplets in the atmosphere. This is also true for resiliency, which is the ability to experience setbacks or failures and use them to create momentum. 

Without rain, there is no rainbow and without resistance, there is no resilience. 

By learning how to bounce forward through challenges and cultivating a resilient mindset, you begin building your ability to become change-proof. Like rain, change is inevitable, but the best way to maintain balance is to move through it with resiliency. Not only will this allow you to manage the stress and thrive in change, but it may also protect you from mental health issues that can arise from ongoing stress.

How to Love Your Life and Develop Resilience

So you’ve grabbed your umbrella, pulled on your rain boots and are ready to splash in puddles on your quest for a rainbow. But where do you start?  

Learning ways to build resilience and how to love life doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes training, mindfulness and a heartfelt desire for happiness. In the workplace, this can happen in collaboration with your team so you can encourage each other. The importance of a support system during good and bad times is critical for discovering how to love what you do.

Train Your Resilient Mindset

We’ve all heard the phrase, “mind over matter,” and it is true. Everything begins with your mindset, whether positive or negative. When you have a fixed mindset, you may assume that change immediately creates a dangerous or anxious scenario and your body will react with a fight-or-flight response. This negative viewpoint can make handling the situation more difficult and feel heavier than necessary. Starting with a negative mindset makes it almost impossible to get out of the never-ending doomsday circle of thought. 

However, if you approach every challenge with a positive mindset, it creates energy for you to handle it with resilience and move towards a positive outcome. When you start saying, “I Love My Life,” even when things aren’t going well, your brain will begin to find evidence to support that statement. There is always something to appreciate, even if it is as simple as your healthy body, fresh air to breathe or the smell of clean laundry.

Just like a muscle, resilience is a skill that needs to be strengthened, and over time, with consistency, your resilient mindset will be as natural as breathing. Remember, you always have the power to choose how to think and feel.

You can gain additional practice with the “I Love My Life” mantra

Use Daily Positive Affirmations

When you wake up each morning, is your first thought about something you are excited about or something that worries you? Your morning mindset establishes the tone for the rest of your day. Intentionally creating positive thoughts will not only reduce your stress level, it’s also a profound way to train your brain and build resilience.

You can kick off your resilience activities by adding positive affirmations into your daily habits. Words of encouragement are so powerful they can redirect how you think and feel and the actions you will take. When selecting words, try those that spark joy and build your love for life.

I want to share some examples of positive affirmations that you can incorporate into your routine to empower yourself and build resilience. Each of these statements elevates your ability to thrive in change:

  • “I love my life”
  • “I gracefully overcome every challenge in my life”
  • “I am resilient and can get through anything”
  • “I am allowing strength, support and blessings into my life”
  • “I am a survivor. I have survived many things in life. I’ll surely survive this”
  • “I have everything I need to be happy right now”

Even if you are in the midst of your own personal storm and these sayings don’t resonate at the moment, a simple, “I choose to be happy” takes you one important step closer to your rainbow.

Building Daily Resilience Habits

Like training your mindset, building physical resilience requires daily action. I talked earlier about how your morning mindset sets your mood for the day and that is true for your physical routine as well. When you start the morning feeling energized, it’s easier to face whatever comes your way throughout the day.

A few ideas to begin your day on a positive note is to hydrate with a glass of water, followed by light stretching, meditation, yoga or journaling.

Research shows that mindfulness breeds resilience and elevates life satisfaction. Incorporating mindfulness activities into your daily routine will assist you in seeing the bigger picture in every challenging situation and discovering opportunities within obstacles. Remember that a successful daily resilience practice should include each area of wellness (Mental, Emotional, Spiritual, Physical) and be simple enough to do even on busy mornings.

Mindful people are better equipped to cope with difficult thoughts and emotions without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down (emotionally). Pausing and observing your mind may help you resist wallowing in a setback. 

Encourage a “Got Your Back” Culture in Your Workplace

“Got Your Back” is more than a phrase, it’s a set of actions over time that show support for others. Research has shown that positive social support can enhance a person’s ability to be resilient through times of stress. When a person has relationships that are based on love and trust and provide encouragement and reassurance, their personal resilience is boosted. 

Having a supportive family, friends or work environment doesn’t erase negativity, but the positive energy that they spark in you will make you stronger and able to successfully bounce forward through challenges.

As a leader, when you show your team that you “got their back,” they will naturally feel more resilient in the workplace, which leads to overall happiness and productivity. The importance of a support system in the workplace is critical for your business’s overall success.

Taking Time to Recover from Work

Do you ever feel stuck, anxious or in a bad mood even when rested? That is most likely because “rest” doesn’t automatically mean “recover.” 

As we live our increasingly busy lives, we tend to skip the important necessities that keep us energized, such as eight hours of sleep, taking days off, simply enjoying a cup of tea or having a meditation session. We tend to prioritize everything but our mental, spiritual, physical and emotional health. In the rush to accomplish our daily tasks, we neglect to build in time to recover. 

When your body and mind are out of alignment from being overworked, overtired and overstressed, you can’t perform at optimum levels. When you don’t allow yourself to recover properly, you expend excessive mental and physical resources trying to regulate your mind and body. Giving yourself space to recover is extremely critical for resilience. 

You know your mind and body and it’s important to listen to its warning signs. Taking time to recover is one of the best returns on investment for your mental and physical resilience.

How a Resilient Keynote Speaker Can Boost Your Team Resilience

It always surprises me when people don’t do everything in their power to love their life when we only get one shot at it. The power of happiness is within your control if you choose to work at it.

Learning how to love what you do is like any other lesson. You need an engaging mentor and students who are willing to learn. Your employees need you to create that opportunity for them and empower their ability to focus on resilience and happiness in the workplace. If you’d like to learn more about how to hire a resilience speaker and inspire your team through practical resilience activities and tips, contact us by calling 877.697.4868 or sending an email to team@adammarkel.com. You can expect a response within 24 hours. 

During the darkest days when the rain is pouring down, tap into your power of resilience and enjoy splashing in the puddles, knowing that sunshine and a beautiful rainbow are on the horizon.