7 Effective Strategies to Build Resilience in Trying Times | By Karen Lukanovich

This article is adapted from the original article on Karen's blog here

EDITOR'S NOTE: Karen is a coach - and Olympian. She wrote this article on resilience, and I liked it so much I asked if I could adapt and share it here at The Coaching Tools Company. Luckily she said yes! We've also linked some additional resources for coaches (at the end of the article). Enjoy.

As we strive to adapt to our new reality since the arrival of Covid-19, most of us are struggling to stay centered in the midst of a complete upheaval in our lives. Feeling unsettled, anxious and fearful is normal, and the opportunity lies in how we respond.

These are trying times - but we can help ourselves and others cope in a positive way.

So, what can we control right now?

Competitive athletes learn from their coaches that in the face of high stress and pressure we must focus on what we can control, not on the things we can't.

We can control ourselves, our attitudes, mindset, efforts, what we do and don't do, how we look after ourselves - and how we respond to adversity.

Coping with stress and maintaining a positive affect or mood is key to determining our feelings, thinking, behaviours and outcomes. When we're in a positive mood, we can still dig deep and feel joy, discover passion, enthusiasm and motivation, curiosity and contentment even in the most difficult circumstances; we've all heard stories of, witnessed or have ourselves summoned up amazing human resilience in the face of great challenge.

We have a choice - we can be mindful and choose positive.

Here are 7 effective strategies to build resilience:

Below are science-backed strategies that help us build resilience and maintain a positive attitude in the face of adversity.

1) Acceptance

Accept that you are feeling stressed. This reduces the emotional charge and calms the amygdala, the subcortical structure in your brain involved in the processing of emotions, especially fear and anxiety.

Identify and accept your emotions and then move on - motion changes emotion, actions change attitudes and movement changes mood.

2) Reappraise and reframe your mindset

Reappraise or reframe the stress you feel in the situation as helpful. Asking yourself is this really stressful or is it simply annoying, disruptive or uncomfortable? This can make your feelings more manageable.

Athletes for example use stress as a skill to optimize performance. And it's comforting to know that a history of some adversity is related to greater life satisfaction and strengthens one's ability to cope with stress in life.

Can you also change your mindset so that your stress is a challenge and not a threat? This is not the first time many of us have had to abruptly change course in our lives.

TIP: Try making a list of all the other times you pushed through to remind yourself of the skills and strengths you previously called upon in challenging times. Then tell yourself those stories of resilience today.

"She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails." Elizabeth Edwards

3) Fuel your motivation

You can fuel your motivation by breaking down your goals into small daily tasks that you can succeed at. It's all about the dopamine!

Then when we make progress, we feel better and that leads to more progress.

Establishing a daily routine that starts with small tasks and enjoyable activities we can succeed at will maintain good feelings throughout the day for everyone in our households. Remember that emotions are contagious!

4) Slow rhythmic breathing

If you can slow down your breathing, you will deactivate the 'fight or flight' system and activate the 'rest and digest' system.

When we're stressed, our breathing is shallow which activates a chaotic heart rate and increases our anxiety. We can de-stress our body through short breathing practices during the day.

Here is a practice I find really helpful to relax in under 5 minutes, I hope you do too. The basic model is:

• In-breath for 4 seconds
  • Rest for 4 seconds
• Out-breath for 4 seconds
  • Rest for 4 seconds
• Then simply repeat for a few minutes to de-stress.

5) Balance Your Body Budget *

To effectively manage stress, we must take care of ourselves: we are a mind-body system; to have a healthy mind you need a healthy body. So, a balanced body budget is also key.

Taking care of our physical health should be the first step in managing stress and building resilience. The 3 basics for a balanced body budget are:

1. Good quality sleep
2. Healthy diet
3. Regular exercise

As many of us are spending a lot more time indoors and can't hit the gym, there are many online resources for exercising inside. You can find many other sources on YouTube as well.

*'Body Budget' is a term coined by Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett. Your body budget is like a bank account where we are continually making withdrawals and deposits. If we make too many withdrawals and are unbalanced we will experience low energy, fatigue, stress, anxiety, depression, feeling overwhelmed and so on.

6) Mindfulness

Mindfulness practice is also recommended as a way to cope with stress. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we're doing. It's also about not being overly reactive or overwhelmed by what's going on around us.

Whenever you bring awareness to what you're directly experiencing via your senses, or to your state of mind via your thoughts and emotions, you're being mindful.

Meditation and yoga that focuses on your breathing is a wonderful way to become fully present in the moment, relax and de-stress. There are many apps and online resources available on guided meditation and yoga to explore to find the approach that best suits you.

7) Journaling

Journaling evokes mindfulness, helping writers remain present while keeping perspective. It has many benefits including improving your mood and giving you a greater sense of overall emotional well-being and happiness. Journaling can also help in the management of personal adversity and change, and emphasize important patterns and growth in life.

Wrap-up

I truly hope you found some inspiration and helpful strategies here to build your resilience, maintain your positivity and manage your stress just a little better as you work to change the things you can change today as well as tomorrow.

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

I'd love to hear your recommendations of your favourite practices and teachers in the comments below

And if you like this article on self-care and resilience strategies, you may also like:

• COVID-19 Care Package: (Free) Resources for Coaches
• 3 Ways to Create Boundaries and Balance through Energy Awareness by Sura Kim
• 4 Self-Love & Compassion Practices for You and Your Clients by Lynda Monk

Contributing Author:

Karen Lukanovich, ACC, MBA, Olympian is currently the Head Coach at Cascades Sports Club in Chelsea, QC. (Community sport to world champions in canoe kayak racing). Karen specializes in performance and personal development coaching for athletes and professionals. A former sales executive in STEM, she’s launched successful manufacturing, consulting and coaching businesses. Drawing from her corporate and sport background Karen is passionate about supporting high-achievers to become high performers with confidence and well-being. It's all about the journey! Learn more at www.summit2summitcoaching.com and connect with Karen on Linkedin.

Learn more about Karen & see all their articles here >>