Written by Alicia Cassels, MA, OneOp Military Caregiving Team Member
The concept of resilience, our ability to overcome great challenges and setbacks, describes the incredible strength observed in children and adults who have been able to conquer significant obstacles in life. Resilience in concept and practice is incredibly important as it has the potential to empower in three key ways:
- Understanding resilience helps individuals recognize their own potential to overcome obstacles, providing hope.
- Acknowledging the resilience skills that an individual possesses can help one recognize strengths that may have previously gone unnoticed, adding items to the tool box and providing a greater sense of agency and accomplishment.
- Identifying areas for potential growth can provide important benchmarks for goal setting.
Taking stock of your professional resilience skills can be a transformative process as navigating the organizational and professional changes that form the reality of life for many in the modern workforce requires the development of valuable strengths which may otherwise go unnoticed. Identifying your areas of greatest skill will allow you to add items to the list in your professional tool box. This process also offers the opportunity to review areas for potential growth, which can prove valuable in the formulation of short and long term professional goals.
Ready to take stock?
The questions below provide a great starting point, taken from a U.S. Department of State Publication at www.state.gov/m/med/dsmp/c44950.htm
- Are you able to maintain a sense of perspective when faced with struggles?
- Do you recognize that you have a choice in how you handle challenges?
- Are you able to accept change?
- Do you have effective strategies for anticipating challenges?
- Do you have effective methods to calm yourself when frustrated?
- Are you able to overcome your fear?
- Are you able to work through and let go of anger?
- Do you avoid dwelling on problems and focus instead on finding solutions?
- Are you able to maintain a sense of humor when things seem to be falling apart?
This MFLN-Military Caregiving concentration blog post was published on February 16, 2018.
