I have taught resilience to business execs and Army sergeants.  And the same myths come up every time when I ask about their definition of resilience.

1. Resilient people are almost always positive & upbeat.
2. Resilient people know how to go it alone.
3. Resilient people almost never give up.
4. Resilient people tend to be perfectionists.

The reality is that resilient people experience most of the problems that non-resilient people experience. The major difference between a resilient and a non-resilient person is how quickly resilient people recover from failures and setbacks in their life.

If physical fitness is the speed with which you can recover from physical stress, resilience is the speed with which you can bounce back from psychological stress.

Resilient and truly happy people understand the meaning of “good enough”. They know when to stop and enjoy what they have achieved without being disappointed about how they can improve something even better. They use mindfulness as one of their strength to help them enjoy life as it is rather than be disappointed by the ideas that life can be even better sometime in the future.

One research study of POVs from Vietnam who were held captive for over 5 years (who did not develop PTSD) has listed the following 10 critical psychological elements and characteristics of resilience:

1. Optimism.  Those who are extremely optimistic tend to show greater resilience, which has implications for cognitive therapies that enhance a patient’s positive view of his or her options, thereby increasing optimism.
2. Altruism. Those who were resilient often found that helping others was one way to handle extreme stress, which can also be used therapeutically as a recovery tool.
3. Having a moral compass or set of beliefs that cannot be shattered.
4. Faith and spirituality. For some POWs, prayer was a daily ritual, although others were not at all involved or interested in religion.
5. Humor. Know how to reframe situations and experiences. Be able to laugh at your own self.
6. Having a role model. Many people with role models draw strength from this. for treatment, using a role model, role modeling, or helping someone discover a role model can be beneficial.
7. Social supports. Having contact with others who can be trusted, either family or friend, with whom one can share most difficult thoughts was important in recovery.
8. Facing fear (or leaving one’s comfort zone).
9. Having a mission or meaning in life.
10. Training. One can train to become a resilient person or to develop resilience by experience in meeting and overcoming challenges.  (Or in actual resilience training i.e. the Army training mentioned above.)

Update: Although not on the list, physical exercise can also help you develop psychological resilience. Physical exercise helps you improve your health, improve your brain functions, and develop the needed discipline to keep pushing forward when it hurts.

How many of these factors help YOU when going through a stressful time?  We’d love to hear your thoughts…

References:

Rosenbaum, J. & Covino, J. (2005). Stress and Resilience: Implications for Depression and Anxiety. Medscape Today.

Reivich, K. & Shatte, A. (2003). The Resilience Factor:  7 Keys for Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life’s Hurdles.

Freddie Mac has been implementing numerous projects in the area of positive psychology, from lectures by Shawn Achor that are available for internal viewing on their website, to more intimate workshops in resilience and strengths.

I asked Michele Lockwood who is the Director of Talent Development what Freddie Mac interested in applying a specific approach to well-being that comes from research out the social sciences.  “We went to one company for change training and it wasn’t moving the needle.  To act as though change is a one-time thing is inaccurate.  Change training wasn’t as impactful in giving people the skills, the mindset to ride this train.”

Michele Lockwood

Freddie Mac has seen the effectiveness of the positive psychology programs they have implemented through their follow up surveys.  The DRH Group founded by Doug Hensch (formerly of happier.com and founder of www.drh-group.com) has been facilitating a very successful course called Five Secrets of Resilience.  The data on effectiveness is very strong.  92% of attendees agreed or strongly agree that they could use the knowledge and skills presented in the course in their job.  84% agreed or strongly agreed that they would be more effective in their role as a result of what they learned.  And 93% of participants said they would recommend the course to others.

Doug Hensch, M.Ed.

Michele commented on what Freddie Mac thought of the different modalities of training:  “Shawn Achor is not as personal as a resiliency class. Training in person gets deeper and gets to more self-reflection but doesn’t get to as many people.”

They are also working with my organization, Plus Side Strategies (www.plussidestrategies.com), to implement a strengths workshop with their Women’s Cohort.  And what made Freddie Mac attracted to a focus on strengths? Lockwood replied:  “There is so much emphasis on what we do wrong, from media or audits or congress hearings, there is so much emphasis around what’s broken, we felt like people were losing sight of the positive and how much value they are bringing to their job and to the organization.  With the women’s cohort the object is not to fix them because they are broken, but to enable already high performing women. We need to keep looking forward and a focus on strengths helps you do that.”

The most notable comment came with a discussion of the expectations of the training.

“We were surprised with the reception.  When we first had Doug (Hensch) come in, we were not sure how people would respond.  After a pilot, we decided to offer the course on a larger scale with almost no advertising and it filled right up and continued to fill with wait lists mostly based on word of mouth.  We underestimated the appetite.”

There seems to be a burgeoning amount of support for positive psychology in business, especially now that the science is catching up with the practice.  Do you think it would be a good fit with your organization?  Do you know of businesses in the DC area who are already implementing positive practices?  Please share with us.