What makes you happy? It is easy to stay happy when times are good. It is more challenging when life has thrown you a curve. In difficult times it is important to be resilient. Resilience is that quality that enables people to face adversity and adapt to it without lasting difficulties. A resilient person can "roll with the punches". Some people are born with more resilience than others. We all can become more resilient. Knowing the characteristics of resilient people can help you to become more resilient yourself. Here are some of the main characteristics of resilient people:
1. They are strong people who realize the importance of having a good social support system and are able to surround themselves with supportive friends and family.
2. They look at the bright side of a situation. They believe in their own strength and their ability to address and overcome any problem. During a crisis they are good to have around because of their optimism.
3. They have a spiritual practice. They have faith in themselves and the universe to overcome anything. (This doesn't mean you can't be resilient if you don't have a spiritual practice. It just means a connection has been found.)
4. They are childlike in their interest in what is going on. They are curious about situations. They experiment, wonder about things and laugh. They are not caught up in what was (the history). They focus on the new possibilities.
5. They are connected to what is most important to them in life (their values) and see meaning and purpose in what they do. Instead of getting emotional about a situation they align their thoughts and actions with their values.
6. They focus on the important things and don't fight things they can not control. Resilient people save their energy to fight the battles that are necessary. They know what they control and what is out of their reach.
7. They take responsibility for their physical well being. That allows them to be physically and emotionally resilient. They eat healthy food, exercise and get enough rest. This buffers them from life's stresses.
8. When a problem arises they seek solutions. They can live with uncertainty and ambiguity until they find the solution. This gives them room to grow.
9. They always see something negative as an opportunity to do something better or get something better. They consider adversity a challenge not a threat.
10. They don't take themselves too seriously. They have a sense of humor about life's challenges.
Alvah Parker is a Practice Advisor for Attorneys and a Career Coach as well as publisher of "Parker's Points", an email tip list and "Road to Success", an ezine. Subscribe to these free publications at her website http://www.asparker.com/samples.html and also receive a values assessment as a gift