Resilience- Renewing Not Enduring

Resilience is key to success in today’s world.  It is about our ability to daily renew our strengths.  It is  not necessarily about our enduring ability.   The key to resilience is about finding ways to ensure we get mental rest and unwind daily, so we can resume work stronger than ever, able to take on any challenge.  Renewing our strength not enduring  through continuous challenges is the important key.

Don’t let your work life overflow into your personal life (and the reverse)

For a lot of people  I have met, when they leave the workplace, their minds are still stressed.  I have learnt to park work issues  firmly at the workplace. Likewise, I never let home issues spill onto the workplace if I can help it. “Let the dead bury the dead” is my motto. Why be concerned about something that the right time to deal with is yet to come?

A  big part of refreshing ourselves mentally is all about securing time to let off steam outside of work.  If after work we have not given our brain a break from high mental arousal states we are affecting ourselves negatively.  Our brains need rest as much as our bodies do.

Secure chunks of time at home as “work-free zones” where no thoughts about challenges are permitted.  Instead focus on movies, reading or any other activity that allows mental relaxation.  Mental stress takes up more energy than physical stress. Even better consider having a personal day off everything, even if a getaway is impracticable.

Make Technology your wellbeing friend

Checking our smartphones is an automatic reflex for a lot of us.  We end up checking the phones more than we have reason to.  Many Apps  can generate demand for our attention.  We misdirect precious mental energy that could be spent on other important areas of our lives.

Use technology on the smartphone to keep off the phone.  Turn off distracting features while working.   Some Apps can show how many times a day the phone is turned off. Creating  this level of awareness helps us curtail the time we spend on the phones.  Setting alarms on the phone as reminders for mental breaks are also of great help.

Also refresh your mind in the workplace

Making simple adjustments at work daily can help us to properly turn off and refresh our mental energy.   This internal recovery is a very significant in refreshing us mentally.

A cognitive break every 90 minutes as a minimum is recommended for us to boost our mental capacity during the day.  Going for walks during breaks  helps.   Eating lunch away from the desk is a great habit to form.

Get adequate sleep

Setting aside a healthy 8 hours a day for sleep will ensure we are well rested, ready for every single day.  Being mentally strong is about sustainably practicing habits that allow us to be happier and more successful at what we do.

About The Author

Chuck

It all started with Eze (fondly called Chuck) fainting at the airport. When he regained consciousness, Chuck found himself in a mental hospital. He was diagnosed with Psychotic Depression. Over time, Chuck was diagnosed with a range of other mental illnesses with the final one being Schizophrenia. Unbeknown to him about this latest record on his medical files, Chuck carried on with day to day living over the next 14 years until he met Zoe. Over the next 4 years, Chuck and Zoe began a journey of faith to defy the odds of mental illness. Today Chuck’s medical records say NO MENTAL ILLNESS. He defied mental illness and is helping others do the same.

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