03 May How to Measure Resilience?
Resilience is a word we hear often but what does it really mean?
According to the American Psychological Association resilience is “[…] the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress—such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems or workplace and financial stressors. It means ‘bouncing back’ from difficult experiences”.
Do you ever wonder if we can live a life where nothing ever goes wrong?
I don’t believe so as life is not a bed of roses. Or is it? Perhaps our successes and good times in life are like being surrounded by rose petals with their softness and lovely smells. The more difficult times or challenges in life represented by being pricked by a thorn from the a stem of those same lovely rose petals.
Life can be ‘thorny’
Each stage in life from birth to death is comprised of positive, neutral, and negative experiences. Our response to negative experiences is largerly learned from our observations of other’s responses. We are heavily influenced by our parents, family members, teachers and peers. Media also plays a role in shaping our expectations and our responses. On the surface you might disagree with this, however our subconscious is what drives our response and our subconscious is hugely influenced by our surroundings.
In this last decade the conversation around mental health has initiated a plethora of resilience focussed research. The rosey side of this research has proven that resilience can be learned. As I mentioned earlier, the subconscious has a role to play as our resilience is greatly impacted by early life influences such as;
- supportive, attentive, and responsible parents,
- a loving environment,
- positive relationships with peers and adults,
- experience with life challenges and overcoming them,
- and avoiding exposure to uncontrolled repeated stress and trauma.
Other factors include an adaptive stress response, rapid stress recovery, high coping self-efficacy, strong cognitive reappraisal, emotional regulation, and self-confidence.
This latter list of influences is where the “learning” to be resilient takes place. We can improve our stress response, recovery, coping self-efficacy, cognitive appraisal, emotional regulation and self-confidence, with exposure and practice.
Why be Concerned about Resilience?
Resilience is associated with longevity, lower rates of depression and greater overall satisfaction with life.
People with higher levels of resilience work more efficiently and effectively when bored, overwhelmed and during peak performance. They are more self motivated during periods of low stress and have the tools and resources to avoid the slippery slope to burnout during periods of high stress.
Being more resilient improves the probability that we feel satisfied or dare I say, really happy with our life.
Measuring Resilience
The six main domains of resilience, as presented by Dr. Nadine Sinclair and Paul Sinclair of MindMatters are;
- Health
- Purpose
- Problem solving
- Perseverance
- Composure
- and relationships
These drivers form the basis of what can be considered the most comprehensive resilience psychometric currently available, the Personal Resilience Indicator, (PRI). The PRI integrates insights from the past 30 years of neuroscience and psychology research. It was developed with guidance from neuroscientists, psychologists, executive coaches and mental health prfessionals and was verified by a renowned psychometric expert. The PRI enables a data-driven approach to improving mental wellbeing and establishing a resilience baseline for individuals.
Each resilience domain is comprised of two main drivers;
- Health: sleep and lifestyle
- Purpose: confidence and motivation
- Problem solving: analytical thinking and creative insight
- Perseverance: adaptability and optimism
- Composure: emotional literacy and agility
- Relationships: intuition and connection
Building Resilience
Of the six domains, the health and composure domains are the most critical as they have a direct relationship with the HPA (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal) axis of the body. This is an intricate neuroendocrine mechanism that moderates the effects of stressors by regulating physiological processes in the body. When we are stressed in any way, the HPA axis is involved.
Health Domain
The good news is that health and composure are two areas, that we as individuals, largely have control over. We can improve our health through making sure we take adequate daily exercise. This can be as simple as walking to the train or tube station rather than taking the bus, or walking to a station that is further than the one nearest to where you live.
Embracing mindful eating is another easy win. Paying attention to the food we eat and ensuring we eat well balanced meals. The combination of good nutrition and keeping our body hydrated is the quickest way to positively impact mood, clarity of mind and composure.
The third way we can impact our health is through sleep. Adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep. The more the merrier. To achieve better sleep patterns we need to be aware of our behaviours. What sorts of foods and beverages do we take in the evenings? Do we have an established “winding down” routine for the day? Is our sleeping space set up for sleeping? Do I have a daily destressing routine (exercise, mediation, time with friends to laugh)? The fastest way to better sleep is to change your daily routines.
Composure Domain
Working on the composure side of things means learning how to identify and manage strong emotions, and being aware of our moods and what impacts them.
We often realize when we are emotionally charged but do not know how to shift out of it. We might carry an emotional charge around with us for days as we have no way to let go. Our ability to shift out of this high charge has a direct link to the health domain. If we are not sleeping well it is easy to be overly reactive. Meditation, taking regular breaks (not in front of a screen), mindfulness, breathwork, and sophrology are all practices that enable us to remain composed when there is mild or major chaos in our lives.
We also benefit from a better sense of self. If you are an introvert, be sure to schedule in time alone. If you are extrovert be sure to include social time in your day. Improving our composure is largely about self-awareness. Get to know who you are, your values, and your energy limits for better balance.
Curious to know your resilience levels?
If you are curious about your current level of resilience or know that you could use a boost, book a two part Resilience Fitness Coaching session today. We will begin with an initial call and the completion of the PRI. We follow this with a 90 minute debrief of the results and inital coaching to develop a bespoke plan that is right for you, depending on your level of resilience.
As a certified PRI Practitioner we will use the PRI tool as the basis of our time together and identify the easiest place for you to begin to build your resilience. Helping you lead a more satisfying life whether your bed of roses is soft or prickly.
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