Each day sees an entrepreneur entering the corporate world. But not everyone makes up to the end. People outside the corporate world think that things like intelligence and extraordinary hard work make you successful. Contrarily, the truth is that in the current competitive environment, almost everyone has enough brains, and everyone is out there to be successful. Therefore, everyone puts total effort into achieving their goals. However, the modern business landscape is characterized by die-hard challenges like cutbacks, rivalry, and increasing demands. In the face of these challenges, the only thing that can help you grow and push back against is your resilience.
Resilience is an individual’s ability to rise again after every fall, bounce back from the dark corners, and encounter challenges by taking them as inevitable occurrences of life. The good news is that, unlike intelligence which is an innate trait, resilience is a skill that can be learned and honed with time and practice. The current article narrates the way I learned resilience to be successful in my professional and personal life.
Know the true essence of resilience
I first realized the essence of resilience when I came across a highly motivating book about Maddi and Khoshaba (2006) ‘Resilience at work: how to succeed no matter what life throws at you.’ The book narrated a story of a workplace over a period of 12 years. The authors have written this book by studying a US-based telecommunication company for 12 years. Over the said period, 50% of employees lost or left their jobs. Another two-thirds went through stressful events in their lives. One may assume that the ongoing stress will be detrimental to all the employees, but one-third of the staff showed what resilience could do. They not merely survived in the face of stress and challenges but flourished, taking the company to new heights of success. The story greatly inspired me to delve more into the topic and learn how to acquire the skill.
Develop the strategies to become resilient
I was looking for material to understand that how I can learn resilience. Someone suggested me a book by Jackson and colleagues (2007) in which they argued that resilience could be enhanced and strengthened by adopting specific strategies. An individual can strategize to reduce vulnerability and weakness in the face of stress. The authors suggested the following strategies:
Positivity:
Staying positive in a balanced way keeps you motivated. With a positive mindset of “I can do it,” you feel energy and vigor to come out of a bad situation. Positivity saves you from emotional, physical, and cognitive exhaustion and weariness, bringing out a resilient you who is stable and robust to face the challenges with optimism.
Emotional intelligence:
To be resilient, you must remain aware of your emotional strengths and weaknesses. If you understand your emotions, you can manage and use them in difficult situations. Emotionally intelligent people know what can trigger their vulnerability and weaknesses and what can bring out their strengths. Once they become aware of their psychological state, they can strategize and suppress their vulnerable part while facing corporate challenges.
Work-life balance:
You need to reprieve and retreat to come back with full force. Like a powernap rejuvenises you for more work, a break from professional life to spend healthy time in personal life regroup your energies and brain to face the stress and challenges at work. Therefore, including a regime of work-life balance is essential to stay resilient in the corporate world.
Spirituality:
Spirituality is recognizing that something in the universe is more significant than you. It is the feeling that being a human being is not just a sensory experience but a part of the cosmos. Spirituality helps you in finding meaning in your work. You realize that your work is making a significant contribution to the greater good. The feeling alone can be a buffer against stress and complications. Spirituality leads you to believe that even stressful situations have purpose and potential benefits. With this realization, you know that you will come out of the problem with some gain.
Engage in resilient training sessions
With the advancement in mind science, mind gurus have designed several effective training programs to develop resilience in entrepreneurs and professionals. Resilience training focuses on emotional, mental, physical, cognitive, and spiritual strength. Research and studies show a positive impact of these training because they ensure long-term health in individuals. Researchers working in the field of resilience are focusing on evidence-based therapies to design resilience training. For example, trainings are being developed from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy.
Practice your learning
As an entrepreneur, you can increase your resilience by making your team more robust and stable against challenges and stress.
Preparation helps you to face stressful situations. If you are mentally prepared for a ‘worst-case scenario,’ it enables you to develop strategies to cope with the problem. If nothing else, encourage people to make a Plan B.
For instance, taking part in training and development can enhance their skill list in the CVs. It will also develop them professionally, so they are ready for another job if they are unfortunate to lose the current one.
If the workplace is nontoxic even under extreme pressure, then it increases energy for resilience. Nurture positive engagement among colleagues and professional network. Remind them of their worth and your compassion, so they are decisive for the common goal in case of crisis. For example, giving out small incentives such as custom drinkware or Custom bags with a motivating tagline can increase their enthusiasm towards work and life, even in stressful conditions.
