I recalled some nineteen, twenty years ago during an elementary school Science class. It was the semester on animals, and the topic of the day was on the natural response of fight-or-flight to any event of harmful attacks or threat to survival.
Twenty years later, I came face to face with the same topic, in a different context. An opportunistic challenge that put me into a high intensity psychological position I wasn’t familiar with.
People may go through the same experience, but have different responses. Taking time to understand the rationale and reassess your personal resilience makes managing change easier by being able to increase our awareness in the positive ability to ‘bounce back’ from challenging circumstances.
Here are some simple steps that helped me (hope they will help you too) enhance resilience to change:
Acceptance ACCEPT our present circumstances instead of holding on to the past - the key and core to change resilience. Acceptance does not mean that we stay happy with the situations the way they are. It just means we are at peace with the them and not wasting our energy wishing things were different.
Step Back Instead of being overwhelmed by the pace/ load of change, take a step back and breakdown your problems into small bite-sized parts. Tackle each process and item one at a time. Do not be afraid to seek understanding from more experienced people. Remember, the first few weeks/months of change is the golden period for you can ask any questions and not look silly.
Take Ownership Stop the all self pity or blaming others for what's happened. Look for a window where you can take steps to improve the situation and fire off from there. Take ownership, take charge. You're your own boss within your unique situation.
Recharge Take time out for yourself to recharge. Rejuvenation is so much more important than you think. A small rest goes a long way when it comes to personal resilience (you know how much a 10min charge can do to your dying phone).
Gain Control Once you're able to stay close to the above, you should be able to feel in control. Being in control can truly impact your decision making, influence over yourself people, and in turn the people around you.
All the above helped me stay in check with my set of challenges and continuously building up my resilience and endurance to change.
I've made my first steps, how about you?