4 Tips for Building Resilience During Times of Change
Photo of tree with exposed roots by Emma Gossett on Unsplash
Wondering how to be more resilient when things get tough? This post goes over 4 ways to practice being a more resilient person.
Resilience is defined as a person or ecosystem’s ability to adapt and bounce back and recover after a change event.
Ecological resilience is measured by the amount of time it takes for an organism to return to a stable state after a disturbance.
Resilient creatures, and the environments in which they live, are known to recover and adapt to external disturbance changes quickly, such as those forced on the being or community by climate conditions, weather, or human events.
As a human being, you can become resilient to change, allowing you to better bounce back. Resilience is something that can be taught, learned and built upon.
4 Tips for Building Resilience During Times of Change over photo of tree roots in foreground, branches on top by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash
1 - turn on conservation mode
When some plants experience drought, a change of precipitation, they may stay alive, but stop producing flowers or greenery above ground and go dormant on these additional shows of flare.
They may minimize their leaf producing branches or simply produce fewer or no flowers.
Flowers, for example, cost sugar and nutrients to produce, which take water to transport above ground, so when you don’t make them, you save on these resources. Trees produce smaller rings during drought, and take up to four years to recover.
This action of reducing “spending” in the plant world, prevents loss of water resources due to above ground transpiration, and reduces sugar and nutrient use above ground.
It can allow some plants to withstand longer periods without rain and the nourishment it carries, thus becoming more resilient, stronger in response, to change of this nature.
As a human, these tales from the plant world can inspire us to think of places where we can move into “conservation mode” during a change, and ride out the new normal.
2 - Divert Attention to the Base
About two weeks before the pandemic struck, my companion and I went to a nearby yoga studio in a barn to try out their classes.
The particular class we attended was led by a local shaman who throughout the class insisted that after we go home, to focus on our animalistic needs - food, shelter, water, clothing.
She even had us on our hands and knees to chant we were animals and our baseline needs.
Indeed, when you pay attention to your physical needs, the basis of your existence on Earth does build in resilience and strength.
Food, shelter, and clothing give stability here on Earth and strengthen your ability to weather whatever comes, which increases your adaptability when it comes to overcoming and thriving in change.
The stronger you are in getting your baseline needs met, the more sturdy you’ll be - thus able to build your resilience to anything happening.
3 - Break Up With Other People’s Business
If you are spectating other people’s stuff, who is spectating your stuff?
When you are not watching your own stuff, changes can happen without being noticed, and the longer the lag time, the harder it is to get ahead of the change and flow with it.
Instead, you are more likely to be dragged along, which usually creates damage, as the wording suggests.
When the conditions change, you need all of your wits present with you to be more responsive, and make the best, wisest choices.
To build resilience, and adapt to change, focus on the present in the moment, and presence allows you to see what is going on and move with it, easily.
To do this, try turning on the news only once a day or just weekly for 30 minutes to an hour, to see the loop or read the major headlines.
The news for you can include anywhere you go to hear about other people's business - newspapers online, social media, blogs, forums, etc. Instead, read the weather report, pay attention to tips from your neighbors, check your email, respond to your letters - that’s the most important stuff.
4 - Ask, What’s Abundant Around Me?
When outside circumstances change that require us to adapt, sometimes what was abundant before is no longer, and what wasn’t abundant before, now is plentiful.
During a change event, take stock. Do you have new areas of plenty? Have the flows of plenty changed? If so, what has become more available?
Tapping into the new surplus and letting go of what was, can help you maximize new resources in times of change, which can help you adapt to the change, building your resilience, and increasing your resistance to damage during change.
Photo of tree roots in foreground, branches on top by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash
Alright, so to recap…
By moving into conservation mode, diverting attention to base needs, staying present, and taking stock of what may be newly abundant to maximize it, you change with the change and evolve into you a new way to be you.
Coming back better than ever after a change event, is resilience. Thriving after a change is resilience, weathering a change by making adjustments, is resilience.
Resilience is all about adapting to a new environment that is created after a change event.
If you’ve made it thus far, you likely have some bouncing back and adaptability tips of your own.
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