Resiliency is a characteristic possessed by every individual worker who has ever achieved something truly worthwhile. Being able to push through difficulties, setbacks and the unrelenting obstacles that work throws your way is paramount to success in your job and your career. Unfortunately, the majority of workers may look for the path of least resistance. Avoiding difficulty and hard work is incredibly enticing for most.
However, if you plan on separating yourself from the status quo and actually leading a career of accomplishment, resiliency is a must. Make no mistake; resiliency is not a trait that people are born with, far from it. Becoming resilient is a process and requires hardships and difficult situations.
In this article, we will discuss 5 ways to become more resilient in your everyday work life that will allow you to step out of your comfort zone and go after those lofty goals.
Seek Discomfort
Are you serious?
Yes…as human beings, we have an inherent tendency to avoid discomfort. Making ourselves do things that are hard and unpleasant is not our natural instinct, even if the task is beneficial in the long run. One of the most important habits you can develop when it comes to building resilience is to actually seek out discomfort here and there.
What does this mean? Think about the things you know you should be doing, but always find an excuse to avoid executing. Maybe this is getting up early to workout, staying up well into the night to finish important assignments for work, or having that difficult conversation you have been putting off with your supervisor or your subordinate. You are certainly aware of whatever discomfort your position brings you but needs to be done for your own benefit.
Simply put, becoming resilient involves voluntarily attacking discomfort head on instead of coming up with yet another excuse to postpone what needs to be done.
Solidify Your “Why”
Being resilient is synonymous with refusing to give up. That being said, having a deeply rooted conviction as to why you are doing something in the first place is critical. Doing something difficult just for the sake of discomfort is highly likely to result in failure.
Take a moment to reflect back to that uncomfortable work activity you always seem to put off. Instead of the difficulty involved in this task, think about the reasoning behind it. If you want to become resilient, finding your “why” behind overcoming an obstacle is a must.
Keep Your Ego In Check
So many of us shy away from challenges for fear of how others will perceive us. Being labeled a “try-hard” has ironically taken on a negative connotation in today’s society. What you need to understand is that this is YOUR life, not a drill or dress rehearsal before the real thing. Furthermore, you are in your current job or in the workforce for a short time and you can bet that one day, you will look back and regret not going after what you wanted because of what so-and-so thought about it.
Resiliency and ego do not coexist very neatly. Therefore, being able to drown out negative opinions from small-minded co-workers is absolutely necessary to maintain a state of resilience.
Don’t Shy Away From Failure
Make no mistake; failure is as an inevitable and vitally important part of employment. In order to become skillful, there is a large amount of failure involved. Likewise, in the pursuit of anything truly worthwhile, setbacks and obstacles are a guarantee.
Every time you fail at an assignment on your way to becoming competent, each and every occasion that you refuse to let a mistake or setback halt your progress you are building resilience. When you fail, and you will, use the situation as a lesson to fail better next time. Rest assured that beyond that last failure is hard-earned success.
Self-Talk Is Everything
The way you communicate with yourself in your mental environment has to be positive and compassionate if you want to become more resilient. So many people go through life berating themselves for every shortcoming and mistake and then wonder why other people speak to them the same way.
One thing that is certain on your path to success is that a fairly large percentage of your co-workers will question and disagree with many of the decisions you have to make and then sing your praises when you finally accomplish the goal. YOU must be a voice of support and motivation to yourself during the hard times, really at all times. Being able to maintain your resiliency relies heavily on your ability to sustain positive self-talk.
Need Assistance Hiring Resilient Workers
If you need some assistance in recruiting and hiring more resilient workers in this uncertain labor market, contact Flexicrew Today.