By Briana S., Case Manager, Terry Reilly Health Services
What if we never made mistakes or had adversity? It’s easy to think that a life without challenges would be wonderful. However, there is something to be gained when we have failures or struggles – the potential to learn and grow. Confucius said “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” It’s natural to want to avoid missteps in life. But resilience is built by going through difficult experiences, not by avoiding them.
A wise mentor recently shared with me that “it is important to keep doing hard things.” Why is this? Because without challenges and struggles in life, there is no opportunity to work through hard things, learn from them, and get stronger. Often it is not fun to do these hard things. But it is how we grow.
Here are some ways to help yourself and others build resilience:
- Find support in a family member, friend, or therapist
- Acknowledge failure or painful experiences with a matter-of-fact, understanding approach
- Journal about hard things you’ve succeeded at doing, and how you were able to get through them
- Have discussions with a trusted loved one about what happened, how to help the situation, and together think of ways to handle or do things differently next time
Learning resilience, as with most things in life, is a constant process. It is not about perfection, but progress.