life challenges
7 steps to increase your resilience, an essential virtue to achieve success
And the only discipline that can keep us in a place of perseverance when we find ourselves during a difficult situation.
Have you ever doubted your abilities to achieve success in your venture? Don’t underestimate the power of those doubts.
They are the main reason why projects fail. Contrary to what many people think, success does not depend so much on our skills or knowledge, but much more on our resilience.
Learn 7 steps you can take to increase your resilience.
Success is going from one failure to another without losing enthusiasm, according to a famous saying by Winston Churchill.
Although this does not sound very encouraging, it reflects a truth that is only known to people who have achieved success because they lived it firsthand.
Many people fail in their endeavours simply because they stop struggling.
So resilience is a crucial feature on the road to success in any area of life.
More than just the right training or qualification, the knowledge or experience gained, resilience is what determines success, whether in business, on the board of a company, in sports, in our human relationships or any other endeavour that the human being realizes.
What is resilience
According to Wikipedia, the term resilience refers to the ability of people to overcome periods of emotional pain.
A person who has adequate resilience can overcome setbacks or even be strengthened by them.
In physics, it simply means the ability of a body to return to its original shape after being under pressure, without deformation or breakage.
Are you a person who has been able to endure awkward moments in your life without losing your joy for living, without becoming bitter and without falling into despair?
If so, you belong to a minority.
Unfortunately, life leaves its marks on the vast majority of people, who, many times, cannot recover their “original form” after suffering a setback.
The negative experiences that human beings go through can affect them in such a way that they fall into a state of what I call «living in black and white.»
“Resilience is knowing that you are the only one that has the power and the responsibility to pick yourself up.” – Mary Holloway
Daily life loses its colour, and the affected people are in a state of apathy that seeks to survive rather than to undertake and succeed.
Under these conditions, it is challenging to undertake a successful business or any other life project.
However, there are ways to overcome and even restore the damage that life’s storms have left on us.
You can develop your emotional intelligence to such an extent that you can even come out more reliable with the negative experiences you have had.
Here are seven steps you can take to build your resilience to life’s obstacles:
Step # 1: Change your mindset
In the scripture, it says that we should not conform to the ways of the world, but we should renew our minds to verify what is the goodwill of God, pleasant and perfect.
Our mind is the control center of our lives. If we misbelieve, we will think badly, we will make bad decisions, and we will misbehave. It’s that simple.
The problem is that our thought patterns are usually so ingrained in our minds that they run on autopilot.
Our attitude towards certain situations is conditioned by thousands of factors that make us react immediately, without thinking it through.
So how can we change them?
The negative thoughts can not be cancelled with positive thoughts. The only way to get rid of an evil thought pattern is to speak or confess an opposite belief as soon as it appears.
Step # 2: Change your way of speaking
One of the most powerful tools that God has given us is our mouth.
Sometimes our words are like a construction mallet, we use it without thinking, and when we look around, all we have is a pile of relational rubble.
When you thoughtlessly drop words destroying people, your relationships will suffer.
One of the reasons why we are not constructive with our words is that we do not realize how powerful this tool is (our mouth and the words that God has given us).
We say things without thinking, and they stay in people’s minds.
Certain things that people carelessly told to you, even from elementary school, university, or when you started working, you still remember them today.
That’s how powerful words are. When it comes to your mouth, you have to think of it as a powerful tool, and you have to be very careful with it.
By replacing your evil thoughts with positive confessions, you will find that your mind is automatically blocked when you speak.
It is the best way to get rid of evil thoughts.
Study God’s promises about your life and confess them every time thoughts of defeat begin to dominate your mind.
Step # 3: Develop your patience
We are the microwave generation. We want to have it all right away at the push of a button. However, in life, we cannot always expect instant results.
Many times it has to be a long time before our venture has reached maturity in which it will demonstrate the fruits we long for.
Many people give up on good projects simply because they didn’t have the patience to expect them to pay off.
It is more painful when other people reap the rewards of all the efforts invested in the project because the initial managers were not able to wait for the right moment.
Step # 4: Exercise self-discipline
To have resilience, the degree of self-governance that we have is significant. Discipline is a relevant factor in overcoming obstacles in life.
It is one thing to strive for a venture or business when everything is going well, and it is another very different thing when we are amid adversity.
The only discipline can keep us in a place of perseverance when we find ourselves during a difficult situation.
As football coach Vince Lombardi said well:
“The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.” – Vince Lombardi
Step # 5: Acquire a forgiving lifestyle
Are you holding a grudge against someone who has harmed you at work, business, or personal life?
One of the most damaging factors in our lives is remembering the damage that others have caused us.
It produces feelings of resentfulness and bitterness that will ultimately transform into a weed that will invade all other areas of our lives.
Forgiving does not mean forgetting since forgetting is sometimes impossible. Forgiving simply means:
- Free yourself from negative feelings towards someone
- Forgive others as quickly as you expect God to forgive you
- Trust that God will do justice in our place
- Have a humble attitude that recognizes that you have also been wrong and that you would also like to be forgiven for it
Step # 6: Find good mentors
“A lot of people put pressure on themselves and think it will be way too hard for them to live out their dreams. Mentors are there to say, ‘Look, it’s not that tough. It’s not as hard as you think. Here are some guidelines and things I have gone through to get to where I am in my career.'” — Joe Jonas
The best way to achieve success in your venture is to walk with people who have already made it.
Not only will they set an example for you, but they will also inspire you to think big and help you stay motivated when things don’t work out.
Step # 7 Grow in your faith
Our faith is the key to achieving success. However, it is essential to specify in what we can have a “faith that moves mountains “, that faith that allows us to overcome the obstacles that are presented to us in our daily life.
It is faith that freed us from the curse and gave us victory over any adverse circumstance if we accept his gift.
If you consciously follow these seven steps, your life will change and, instead of living from one failure to another, you will be able to savour success in everything you undertake.
