Seven tips for mastering resilience in 2024

1. We sometimes think about resilience as the exclusive preserve of a select few. It’s not. A better analogy is that resilience is like a muscle – the more you exercise by bouncing back from tough times, the stronger you get. 

2. Embrace that pain is part of the process. The dots only connect looking backwards, so you have to trust that no matter how painful it feels now, the dots will somehow connect in your future. 

3. One time tested trick in mastering resilience is to remember how you’ve dealt with difficulties in the past and remind yourself that you’re the same person who has overcome challenges before and you can do so again.

4. When you’re confronted with a failure, remember that you can take ownership of your role in it, while simultaneously refusing to personalize it. I have failed at this one thing does not equal I am a failure at things. 

5. When tough times happen, there’s a tendency to want to shut people out and keep the worst parts of ourselves to ourselves. But hope is nurtured in community. It’s important to keep people around you that can speak life into you, remind you that your experience is more common than you think and give you the courage to carry on. 

6. In times of uncertainty, finding things that give you a sense of control can be instrumental to keeping perspective. This sometimes looks like taking up a personal project, learning something new or even picking up a sport. Anything that gives you a sense that you’re in control and are able to take decisive action can be the springboard you need to bounce back rather than simply wishing adversity away. 

7. Your network is vital but remember that the most important voice will be the voice inside your head. The world is already unkind enough. Practice being gentle on yourself. 

Bonus tip: Hope is the foundation of resilience. The belief in a better tomorrow and the rejection of the permanence of hardships is the bedrock of resilience. There’s  far more bravery in believing.