Putting it All TogetherChapter 6, Lesson 3

Strengthening Your Resilience

Find peace in life through balance

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Congratulations—you’ve reached the end of the workshop! Now it is time to put resilience into practice. As you may have noticed throughout the workshop, there is a lot that goes into being resilient! Achieving balance and harmony in your life will help you to maintain your resilience.

Resilience and the Art of Balance

Being resilient requires balance and flexibility.1 Keep these tips in mind to help you achieve harmony in your life.

Practice self-care, but make time for others. As you learned in Chapter 1, you should be your number one priority. Treat yourself as you would a loved one. Eat healthy, exercise, seek medical care when needed, stay on top of preventive care, take time to laugh and participate in hobbies and activities you enjoy. At the same time, build your support system, spend time with family and friends, and share in new experiences with others.

Look to the future while learning from the past. Keep an open mind and look forward to all experiences that are coming your way. Good or bad, they are what make you you! Use past experiences to help guide you when making decisions or facing obstacles in the future.

Be self-reliant, but know when to ask for help. When challenging situations arise, you should be your first “go-to” person to overcome them. At the same time, you can’t always go it alone. An essential part of being resilient is having a strong support system and knowing when to ask others for help.

Set goals without overwhelming yourself. Breaking down your goals into smaller, moremanageable goals can be the difference between aspirations and realizations. Think about the goals that you have for your life and the positive results you hope to achieve. Break your goals down as follows below. They may sound familiar from other workshops, but it is truly the most effective way to meet your goals!

• Long-Term Goal: The “big picture” goal, a desired future outcome that may take a year or longer to complete.

• Short-Term Goal: Breaks down the long-term goal into smaller goals; a desired outcome that can be achieved in three months.

• SMART goals: A desired outcome that can be achieved in 2 to 3 weeks’ time that further breaks down both the long- and short-term goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

Know when to rely on others for additional help

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Finding Help

If you still feel overwhelmed at the prospect of handling life’s difficulties and feel you need additional help to cope, there are many resources to help you do so.

Find out if your employer has an Employee Assistance Program or EAP. EAP programs are often included within your benefits package. They can help you address many problems. Generally the services are free of cost to you and are 100 percent confidential. Conversations with your EAP provider are not shared with your employer.

Seek a licensed mental health professional such as a psychologist or counselor to help you. This is especially important if you find it difficult to live your daily life or are having problems functioning.

Talk to your doctor. Your doctor may be familiar with resources in your area and/or may be able to refer you to a mental health provider.

Find a support group. These groups are generally led by other people going through similar issues with the guidance of a counselor or mental health professional. Peer support can help you to see you’re not alone in your struggles and help you learn tips from others going through similar experiences. Many support groups are face-to-face, but there are also online groups. For more information about locating support groups, click here.

1. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx American Psychological Association:

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Take action! Being resilient is a lifelong process. Now that you’ve completed the workshop, how do you plan on improving your resilience? Write down your plan to continue to work on your resilience.