Resilient Wednesday Weekly Memo

One of our inalienable rights as Americans is to pursue happiness and certainly if we are building resilience in the face ofchallenging life events, the goal surely must be to find that elusive state. Opinions differ about exactly what makes happiness. Most research has focused on overcoming our negativities (as we discussed a few weeks […]

One of the most challenging parts of being resilient is staying in the moment when a stressful event is happening. Examples of successful navigation almost seem heroic at times. A fire fighter running into a burning house, superstars like LeBron James sinking that last second jump shot to win the game or a news reporter

Today’s parents are often accused of being helicopter-ish. They are seen as hovering overhead, and protecting their young ones from any conceivable adversity. The question is being posed today, however, if all of this protectiveness is keeping our kids from learning how to face challenges and develop skills that will be important for them to

Biologically, we are programmed to look for the worst in situations…and it is a good thing we do. Our biology would take us back to primitive times where we would want to be on the lookout for the worst case scenario—a sabre toothed tiger over the next ridge or a tribe or warring enemies mounting

One of the reasons we experience stress is due to the fear that we will not be able to manage a particular event. We get a call from our boss to come up to her office and we assume the worse. We check out the traffic report in the morning and find out that our

As I like to remind people, stress is inevitable; how we choose to deal with it is all up to us. Hardiness is the idea that you can build up your energy reserves so that in the face of a stressful event, you are able to handle it with more grace and can bounce back

I often find that managers are reticent to discuss stress in the workplace for fear that it will encourage complaining and frustration on the part of their employees. However, stress levels in today’s workplace are the elephant in the room and a resilience approach to these topics will help move the conversation from problem finding

Think about the last time you faced a stressful situation and how you handled it? For most of us, dealing with situations ranging from someone cutting you off on the highway or your boss coming in with a concern about your current project is destined to increase your stress hormones…and your emotional reaction. Navigating difficult

Being a resilient leader means that you help your team members understand and adapt to crises situations so they can turn chaos into “business as usual.” As a leader you may see that your team doesn’t cope well with unwelcome challenges. They may become discouraged, aggravated and even angry. Creating an environment of resilience will