Management
Issue No. 51 - February/March 2010
How to build resilience
by Linda Chaousis
Squeeze an orange and you discover what it is really made of. Does it just drip-feed bitter liquid or does it provide a plentiful stream of sweet, full-coloured juice? Most oranges look alike on the outside. It’s when they are squeezed and pressed we find what they are really made of.
When you are squeezed by work conflicts, workload pressures, unwelcome change or the behaviour of a toxic colleague or manager, how do your responses reflect what is inside? How do you ensure your responses to the pressures and setbacks in your professional and personal life don’t undermine your health and wellbeing?
Personal resilience comes from a combination of internal and external approaches. Much compelling research in the fields of neuroscience and positive psychology points to the health and wellbeing benefits of resilience strategies. This is more than stress management: resilience tools teach us how to interpret and respond to experiences in a manner that leads to flourishing rather than languishing.
In her studies on the connection between the brain and the mind, Dr Caroline Leaf has found negative thoughts release toxic chemicals into our bodies. Over time, repeated negative thought clouds our ability to think clearly and impairs our health.
Dr Sonja Lyubomirsky’s positive psychology research reports that, “Overthinking (i.e. rumination) ushers in a host of adverse consequences: It sustains or worsens sadness, fosters negatively biased thinking, imp...
