4 Ways to Build Resiliency in Your Career 

Your resiliency is your capacity to recover from difficulties. Plans never go 100% as expected. Those with the flexibility and strength to respond to external factors end up on top.

So, what factors contribute to an individual’s resilience? Studies have shown that childhood likely played a big role in how resilient you are now. In one study on resilience in adults, researchers looked at children who came from both stress-heavy and privileged backgrounds, noting how they became resilient over time and how their resilience differed in adulthood.

Key findings suggest that resilient children often shared a common characteristic: a meaningful connection with a mentor during their formative years. These children were also characterized by autonomy, curiosity, sociability, and independence. Moreover, resilient children possessed a mindset that placed them, rather than their circumstances, in control of their destinies.

But what if you weren’t quite as autonomous, independent, and/or social as the children described above? It’s essential to recognize that while resilience is ideally nurtured early in one’s career, it’s never too late to cultivate this trait. Building resilience is a continuous process that can empower you to surmount obstacles and achieve your highest goals.

Resiliency in the Modern Workplace

According to an article from Deakin University and the university’s director of digital learning, Associate Professor Marcus O’Donnel, resilience is the key to thriving in today’s modern workplace. He notes, “Contemporary workplaces are often inherently stressful … Not only can the demands placed on us be high — both in terms of the time we have to complete tasks and the level of task complexity — but workplaces are about teamwork and teamwork is all about balancing often tricky relationships … The resilience skill set helps us manage both ourselves and others. In all these situations, we need the cluster of resilience skills that help us plan our work, manage our emotions and reactions and look after our own energy and health.”

O’Donnel defines resilience skills as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, project management, self-care practices, collaboration, altruism, and collegiality.

4 Ways to Build Resilience

Is your resilience not quite where it needs to be? Consider these four strategies to start strengthening this essential trait.

1. Build a Support System

Support systems, or lack of them, in your early childhood played a role in determining whether or not you’re a resilient adult today. So, if you need to build your resilience now, consider creating a support system. Knowing that you have friends, family members, and colleagues who support you can help you better cope with stress, challenges, and setbacks rather than going at it alone.

2. Change Your Reaction to Stress

This is much easier said than done, but it’s basically the whole point of resilience. What’s one easy way to start working on your normal stress reaction, according to Entrepreneur magazine? Cognitive reframing. It’s a tool used in mental health therapies quite frequently to help those with anxiety. It involves reframing situations that seem overly stressful or overwhelming by looking at them in a new light.

Take, for example, an overly stressful week at work, where the demands keep coming, and you can’t catch a break; the extra stress means you’re not performing at your best. You can reframe the situation by telling yourself that the onslaught of demands is temporary and that any mistakes you make due to being stretched too thin don’t directly indicate how good you are at your job. You can either put your head down and get through the week, delegate some of your tasks as appropriate, or ask management for additional resources.

3. Take Charge of Your Career and Goals

One of the defining factors for resilient children was the mindset that they, not their circumstances, controlled their futures. They have an internal locus of control. Do you feel you control your life, or do you allow outside circumstances to determine your path? How often do you take charge of your career path and goals? Be proactive and take control of your outcomes.

4. Embrace Changes and Challenges

Resilience embodies the capacity to navigate stress, confront challenges, and adapt to change. Embracing these elements may not come easily, yet gradually easing into them can significantly bolster your resilience. Commit to facing decisions that entail challenge, change, or stress head-on. While pursuing a career shift or negotiating a substantial salary increase carries inherent risks, shying away from these scenarios can leave you and your career stagnant.

The Bottom Line

While you should establish resiliency early in your career, it’s never too late to do so. Building resilience is tough work, but our coaches can help. Having the support and accountability of a coach can be the push you need to solve problems and move forward with your goals. Book a Free 30-minute coaching call to get started.