I was on a webinar recently and was struck by a statement the webinar leader, a highly-respected business woman, coach and leader made, that the rate of change we are experiencing now, today, is the slowest it is ever going to be in our lifetime. We are living in the age of acceleration.
These changes are most reflected in the following areas:
Technology
Globalization
Climate Change
Population Growth
Climbing to the Top last weekend near Red Feather Lakes, Colorado
When we look at the rate of change today, changes are coming at a rate faster than we humans are able to keep up. Burnout is common in companies and individuals.
I’m not here to bum you out. Just look around you.
Adding to the wide-scale changes we are seeing in technology, society and the world are the various and sundry stressors we all encounter in day to day life. These can include anything from work or school related difficulties, financial, relationship or health challenges, all the way to fighting traffic on our daily commutes.
So what is resilience and how does it fit in? Resilience is the ability to adapt in the face of hardship, trauma, calamity, and substantial and continuing stressors. It means being able to rebound from difficult experiences, grow through trials and even flourish through times when the going gets tough. Resilient people recognize that tough times are temporary and are able to access the inner resources they possess to help navigate those periods.
Resilient people may face serious adversity and hardship, but they aren’t felled. Rather, they are able to tap into their own senses of optimism, hope, perseverance and even humor when faced with challenges.
At a conference recently, one of the participants spoke of the challenges of dealing with the uncertainties of our world, and what some business managers call a VUCA climate, an acronym that stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of overall conditions and circumstances we face today.
The good news in all of this is that resilience, as a character trait and way of operating in the world, is something that can be cultivated. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines resilience as involving “behaviors, thoughts and actions that can be learned and developed in anyone.”
Life happens to all of us. In my next article, we’ll discuss ways we can develop and strengthen this important capability within ourselves and help those around us do the same.
What about you – what are your experiences in facing significant challenges? What helped you not just survive, but learn and grow? Please comment below. I love hearing from you!