4 Reasons Psychological Resilience is a Critical Skill

Have you ever wondered how some people can calmly face adversity while others fall apart? People who can successfully cope with ups and downs have what psychologists call “psychological resilience,” or the ability to get up and recover from adversity.



When faced with a difficult situation, you have two choices: to let your emotions overwhelm you and make you powerless to make any decision out of fear or to lift your spirits and turn pain into opportunity.

Even if you consider yourself a happy person, you will undoubtedly encounter difficulties at some point in your journey. These experiences may weaken you, but they will not break you. Gaining flexibility is the key to turning challenges into successes.

We can all develop a flexible mindset, just as daily exercise and strengthening build the necessary muscles. Sometimes, it is necessary to reach maximum emotional endurance before you can take advantage of your personal flexibility. What is flexibility, and why is it essential for success?

Resilience in Psychology

The idea of resilience has its roots in developmental psychology during the 1970s. While preparing a study on children with mental disorders, psychiatrists and psychologists noted that few of them showed maladaptive behaviors as expected; Instead, behaviors that fell within the normal range of social development.

However, the study took place on the offspring of individuals with schizophrenia. , and its findings that some children were able to grow despite their high-risk condition led to the expansion of research on resilience, which included multiple passive conditions, including social and economic deprivation, parents' mental illness, abuse, disease, and catastrophic life events.

Research on resilience in the late 1980s and early 1990s showed that it was more common than previously believed. The idea of resilience later evolved to include exposure to significant adversity.

Resilience in Psychology

So far, Researchers cannot agree upon a universal definition or understanding of flexibility. The concept of flexibility has changed in the past decade from being limited to a set of static individual traits earlier. However, the idea has converted into a dynamic result and process that depends on interactions between personal and situational variables, which improve over time.

What is resilience?

Today, psychological resilience is generally referred to as the process of adapting well to face adversities, traumas, tragedies, risks, or essential sources of stress; this definition depicts the property of “recovering and resuming success,” which reflects one of the central characteristics of resilience.

Due to the ongoing demand for time and energy, people feel overburdened and unable to manage the high level of goals in their daily lives through problem-solving abilities or coping methods. That leads to a tendency to multitask, lose focus, and become distracted smoothly. The ability to navigate challenging situations successfully is essential to continuing to be a leader in your personal and professional lives.

In a study sponsored by Nationwide and Vodafone, nearly 100% of respondents cited flexibility as a core factor for career success; numbers don't lie; flexibility is the secret to success.

Psychological Resilience

What is the Psychological Resilience Scale?

The Connor-Davidson scale is one of the most famous measures of psychological resilience. Katherine M. Connor, a doctor and researcher at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and Jonathan R. T. Davidson, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University, researched and wrote about psychological resilience and wanted to develop a test to measure the psychological resilience of people. They enhanced the Connor-Davidson test, which measures 25 elements of psychological resilience, such as abilities, standards, and characteristics, enduring negative emotions, accepting positive change, establishing safe relationships, and the impact of spirituality on a person.

The original 25-question test is still the most accurate of the three variations of the test that were later created, including a 10-question and a 2-question version.

The difference between psychological toughness and psychological resilience

Psychological toughness and psychological resilience are related. The owner of psychological toughness is a psychologically resilient person. Psychological toughness is the ability of a person to stay solid in the face of the pressures of life and not to let them break or frustrate them. The capacity to adjust, accept shocks and pressures, and regulate feelings and behaviors is known as psychological resilience. Therefore, psychological resilience and toughness affect a person's mental health and resistance to stress, frustration, and refraction.

Theories of Psychological Resilience

Freud believed that psychological resilience and the ability of man to face adversity depend on the "strength of the ego" and the ability of man to bring about psychological balance and to achieve compatibility between the requirements of the self and the ego.

Rachel Newman defines resilience as “the process of effectively facing the challenges and stressors of life events through self-improvement and effective performance in the environment.”

Sundar and Lopez define it as: "Positive adaptation to adversity, danger or adversity. Positive adaptation means external adaptation, which is the fulfillment of social, educational, and professional requirements, and internal adaptation, which is the positive psychological state that indicates resilience to those adversities."

According to Rogers, psychological resilience denotes the interconnectedness between the self and experiences, as they believe that the psychologically correct person can perceive reality and be open to all experiences.

The importance of psychological resilience

Here are four reasons why having resilience is a critical life skill in today's world:

1. Turn failure into success

The road to success is fraught with several failures and is a natural part of life. You cannot gain resilience if you are not ready to fail. Adversity ultimately leads those unable to rise above it to accept defeat and give up entirely. If you can acknowledge this way of thinking, it is essential to understand that failure is just an event and does not define you.

Research shows that when you try, fail, try again, and eventually succeed, the dopaminergic reward system boosts your activity, giving you the motivation you need when facing adversity.

Failure is just a transition everyone goes through on their way to greatness, so you need to ask yourself if you're willing to take bold steps to become the person you've always wanted to be.

Psychological Resilience

2. Establish an internal control center

Do you think life works in your favor or against you? To improve your happiness in any area, you must ask yourself the difficult question, “Who is responsible for my happiness?” Your answer to this question will determine the effectiveness of your ability to overcome challenges.

People who believe in the control of external factors have difficulty recovering from the afflictions of life. They believe that external forces determine the direction their lives will take, so it is unsurprising that this belief makes them feel powerless. By contrast, resilient people whose ability to control comes from within themselves see themselves as the CEO of their lives. They know that they control every decision they make. They can use life's worst misfortunes as springboards for success because they can pick themselves up after failing and continue.

When you do this, you become the only one who can determine your own destiny, and resilience becomes your natural state.

3. Adopt Positive Beliefs

When your world is shattered, it becomes easy to fall into the trap of negativity and think, “Why me?” way but in any case, you will not be able to overcome the challenges of life if you believe that the universe is not on your side and negativity will not benefit you at all. Research shows that one of the main factors contributing to resilience is the experience of harnessing positive emotions, even in difficult or stressful times.

By harnessing the power of positive emotions and relying on a support system when necessary, a resilient person can reframe adversity into something positive, allowing them to recover, resume their life, and make realistic long-term plans.

4. Help you accept change

At the heart of resilience is the simple fact that change is inevitable. We live in a world that is constantly changing. People get into trouble when they ignore or resist change. As a result, they end up living a life of pain and suffering because they are unable to find comfort in this chaos.

You will only gain flexibility if you are in your comfort zone. The only way to grow and expand is to break free from the shackles of stability and dive into the unknown. That will require you to do some deep inner work, such as changing your beliefs that limit your abilities, getting rid of bad habits, and learning how to deal with stress.

No one is eager to face their problems, but it is an essential step on the road to becoming flexible. In the words of Socrates, “The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

Psychological Resilience and its relationship to life satisfaction

Psychological flexibility gives a person a sense of satisfaction with their life, as it achieves the following things:

  • It helps people accept the idea that there is no life without stress. It is part of life, which makes them more comfortable and satisfied with their life.
  • Psychological resilience helps a person overcome pain, suffering, and negative feelings as soon as possible and with the least degree of impact, protecting him from feelings of discontent and rejection of his reality.
  • The psychologically resilient person is more conscious and mature, enjoys emotional stability, and is highly skilled in solving problems wisely and rationally.
  • Improve their social, family, and marital relationships.
  • Dealing with the pressures and problems of work flexibly makes them more successful and distinguished in their work.
  • Psychological resilience positively affects a person's physical health, protecting them from anxiety, stress, and emotion.

Psychological Resilience

Psychological Resilience at Work

Many pressures are associated with the workplace, such as making important decisions, dealing with a moody or passive colleague, delivery dates, customer complaints, accumulated mail, and many other tasks. The key to success in this work environment is psychological resilience, overcoming these pressures without frustrating or depressing us.

How do you practice resilience in your work?

You can practice resilience at work by:

1. Ability To learn

Psychological resilience at work is practiced by having the ability and constant desire to learn and develop yourself and gain new skills and experiences.

2. Accept the error

Whoever does not work does not make mistakes. So, as long as you work, mistakes are normal and healthy. One of the foundations of psychological resilience at work is to accept and acknowledge mistakes and see them as an opportunity to learn.

3. Risk

Step outside your comfort zone and take a small risk; seizing massive opportunities requires taking a risk frequently.

4. Accept Criticism

Accepting constructive criticism and not taking it is one of the most crucial guidelines for psychological flexibility at work. Instead, try to use the criticism to better yourself.

5. Emotional Intelligence

Training yourself to acquire emotional intelligence skills is critical to practicing psychological flexibility at work, learning how to control your feelings and reactions, and not getting excited or losing control of your nerves, no matter how uncomfortable it may be for you.

6. Social Media

Your ability to read people's personalities and interact with them in a way that suits them, as well as your ability to manage conversations, ask and answer tactfully, and pay attention to your body language, including how you sit and stand, move your hands and eyes, and read the body language of others, all contribute to your increased psychological flexibility at work. You can also use these social communication skills with your boss, coworkers, and customers.

7. Listening Skill

There is a saying that says, "A good learner is a good listener," so train yourself to listen and listen well to the speaker; you learn from them, and you understand well what they say, which makes you choose the appropriate response to the situation, which increases your psychological flexibility in dealing with others in your work.

8. Accept sudden changes

It is common knowledge that the workplace is an unstable, ever-changing environment, even in a given job today. In the morning, you are told you have another job, so you must be ready to accept these sudden changes and deal with them flexibly.

Ways to build resilience

Psychological resilience is a skill that can be built and practiced, and experts and psychologists offer a set of tips on building psychological resilience, the most prominent of which are:

1. Self-esteem

One of the most critical foundations for building psychological resilience is high self-esteem. This means that you trust yourself and your abilities and do not compare them to others. It also makes you flexible in accepting all their criticism or negative words about yourself without being affected.

2. Family

Since the family is a person's first line of defense for psychological protection and strengthening, it is essential to maintain strong, emotionally charged, safe family bonds.

3. Connecting our friends

A person needs friends in their life, especially those who are a source of happiness, support, and love, so make sure to choose these friends and always communicate with them, which makes you more flexible and psychologically stable.

4. Reconcile with pressures

To build psychological resilience, you have to come to terms with the pressures and difficulties of life and view it as one of the basics of life. Life is a series of pressures, disappointments, and setbacks; success is impossible without failures.

5. Change

Psychological resilience needs to make change one of your principles in life. You will achieve nothing while you are afraid of change and adventure to get out of your comfort zone.

6. Let go of the past

You will not be able to build psychological resilience unless you are free from the past, do not remain captive to it, and view your mistakes as lessons, experiences, and life experiences.

7. Other Difference

One of the most important rules for building psychological resilience is your acceptance of the other and their difference from you and your conviction that each person has their principles, ideas, and beliefs, which must be respected and accepted. Then, you will be more flexible in dealing with and justifying their behaviors and reactions.

8. Overcoming Negative Emotions

Don't pay too much attention to negative feelings, such as sadness, anxiety, and fear, but seek to overcome them and busy yourself with activities that you forget about, such as taking a walk with a friend you love, practicing a hobby you love, or attending a comedy film.

9. Difficult situations

Always remind yourself of difficult situations you've been through, how you handled them calmly and flexibly, and how you went through them peacefully and with minimal losses.

10. Challenge yourself

Look at your hardships and problems as challenging training that will help you hone your skills and experiences and increase your psychological flexibility in dealing with problems.

11. Acknowledgment of matters of the Lord

There are fatalistic things in life that we do not have the option to change, such as death or the family we belong to. Recognizing them makes your psychological flexibility high in dealing with them.

12. You deserve happiness

Always view yourself as worthy of happiness, and do not accept to live in sadness and depression. Your conviction that you deserve happiness makes you psychologically resilient in accepting and overcoming difficulties and disappointments.

13. Sense of humor

Enjoy a sense of fun and humor, regardless of the pressures around you, as studies have shown that easing the seriousness of dealing with life, and sometimes taking it with fun and humor, increases your psychological resilience.

Psychological Resilience

14. Zoom in

When the pressures accumulate on you from all sides, enlarge the picture, meaning take a look at your situation with a helicopter and expand the perspective through which you look. Then, your flexibility to accept these pressures will increase, and you will discover things with new solutions and options.

15. Accept the reality

Since reality is often unchangeable, you must learn to accept it, exercise patience, and remain adaptable in navigating your reality and its trajectory.

Read also: How Do We Turn Psychological Stress into Energy Achievement?

Books on psychological resilience

1. "The Road to Psychological Resilience" Abu Halawa Mohammed Al-Saeed

The book "The Road to Psychological Resilience," translated into Arabic by Muhammad Al-Saeed Abu Halawa, deals with the topic of psychological resilience and explains what is meant by the term resilience as "the process of good compatibility and positive confrontation of adversities, traumas, catastrophes or psychological pressures faced by humans." The book lists the factors involved in resilience and strategies for building resilience. The book provides ten ways to build psychological resilience.

Quotes from "The Road to Resilience"

Ten Ways to Build Resilience:

  1. Establish extensive connections with others.
  2. Avoid seeing crises as unavoidable or insurmountable problems.
  3. Accept change as a structurally embedded part of life.
  4. Rush towards your goals.
  5. Make decisive or firm decisions.
  6. You touch all the opportunities that push you towards self-discovery.
  7. Adopt a positive vision or outlook for yourself.
  8. Contextualize things or matters and their normal size.
  9. Don't lose hope, and be hopeful and hopeful for what's to come.
  10. Take care.
Read also: The Physical and Psychological Benefits of Taking a Bath

2. "The Book of Psychological Resilience" D. Bandar Al Jalalah pdf

One of the most well-known books on mental health is "Psychological Resilience" by Dr. Bandar Al Jalalah, in which the author discusses the categories of psychological resilience, how to access them, and how to deal with stress. The book emphasizes the concepts of thankfulness and positive thinking and Dr. Bandar's 26 stages for applying psychological resilience and making it a reality. It stands out for smoothness.

Quotes from The Book of "Psychological Resilience"

  • Bandar Al Jalalah says: "If you have been burdened with worries and distress, if you suffer from stress and psychological pressures in your life, if you are going through challenges and obstacles if you have suffered from shocks and breaks, if you want to achieve successes and achievements, if you seek to be happy, enjoyable and calm minded, this is my book I wrote for you."
  • Psychological resilience is not a supernatural or rare force. Psychological resilience exists in ordinary people, and anyone can acquire and develop it. As such, psychological resilience cannot be seen as a quality; instead, it is a maturation process. It is an individual process through which an individual seeks to know himself and his distinctive abilities. "
  • “What is resilience: swimming without drowning, bending and leaning without breaking! It is not only to endure psychological pain but also the ability to engage with it, which is a skill that can be learned and acquired."
  • "One of the factors of psychological resilience is the distance from generalization. When some suffer from a crisis in their work, this may be generalized to the rest of their lives. Each side may indeed affect the other, but most of the time, can mentally separate each side from the other."
  • "With the crowds of life and pressures, you may forget who you are, what your achievements are, and where your status is. You may also forget the splendor of your material and moral possessions. So give yourself credit by spoiling your soul and body to clear your mind and see your life as it is, beautiful despite what you may sometimes suffer."
  • “Your psychological resilience increases as you become more understanding and aware of your thoughts, way of thinking, convictions, feelings, and behaviors.”
  • "When you feel fear and anxiety, you often think as if they are reality, while they are just thoughts and expectations. Once you discover they are, you distract them with the simplest things, such as walking, running, communicating with someone, etc., distracting them from the idea that your mind does not continue to build a horrible story."
Read also: 6 Ways to Create Emotional Resilience

In conclusion

The next time life surprises you with what you hate, trust your ability to face challenges, and know that adversities may weaken you, but don't let them break you, as it doesn't matter how many times you fall; all that matters is that you get up again and keep moving forward.




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