Why Rebound? Life will inevitably hand us unexpected setbacks, hardships, and failures that we must find a way to prevail over.
“The ability to bounce back after a setback is probably the single most important trait an entrepreneurial venture can possess.”
—Ricard Branson
The Key to Your Resilience
The world is going through such incredible change that my program Shift, Shed & Shine: How to Thrive in Times of Change has been among my most requested. I was recently hired by the Social Security Administration in Washington, DC, to deliver the program to empower the employees with tools for resilience. You can only imagine the changes they are enduring with budget cuts, heavy regulation, increasing workloads—and their exploding customer base with the baby boomers hitting retirement age. No stress there, right?
During one of my programs, a participant raised her hand and basically shared, “I have always been a resilient person, however, life has worn me down. I have been knocked down so many times, that I’m not springing back as fast as I used to.” Isn’t this the epitome of how important it is for us to nurture ourselves and find healthy ways to bounce back when challenges hit hard?
Bounce-ability Factor
Your bounce-ability factor will help determine your resilience in how you handle setbacks, adversity, and challenge. Three light-hearted resilience styles are illustrated through the following analogies:
- The egg . . .
It spends all its time begging you, “Don’t drop me! Please don’t drop me.” Do you know people who refuse to try new things or leave their comfort zones for fear of being hurt or pushed to the breaking point—where they might become cracked? Being safe and careful is their first concern, because they fear that difficulties or setbacks will shatter them.
- The orange . . .
It expects to get dropped. And when it is, it doesn’t even bruise. It even rolls. It looks fine on the outside, but on the inside, it is soft, pulpy juice. Do you know people who take the hit, but seem to absorb the shock and the heaviness all within themselves? They might seem and look fine, but tend to carry the burden of the pain alone, which feeds their bitterness, or the grudges they hold. Perhaps they lash out at others, due to staying stuck and alone in their suffering—holding in the pain that others cannot see.
- The bouncy ball . . .
As you drop it, it hits the ground and joyfully bounces 4, 6, even 10 feet high, screaming “Yippee!” For others, it may not seem real; their innate ability to rebound so effortlessly. It is the hardness of the surface which actually propels them higher and farther. They seize the opportunity to adapt to the circumstances and use it as a learning opportunity to fly high and discover new places in life.
Which Style Do You Gravitate More Toward?
Pun intended! Not everyone bounces back at the same rate from adversity because we all have different coping skills, life experiences, beliefs, and attitudes. Simply becoming aware of your own resilience style will help you be more mindful when you choose your response. Building your resilience will give you more bounce-ability—to effectively rebound—and enable you to recover more quickly.
In sports, a rebound occurs when a ball bounces back from a hard surface. When the ball hits the backboard, it gets bounced in a new direction which keeps the game going. And in life, we all want to stay in the game. No matter the direction, we want to improve our ability, workout to become strong, and keep our ball in play. Life provides the workout—though some may doubt it, each one of us can learn to become that bouncy ball!
When you hit hard tough stuff, do you crack, roll on or feel flattened because of it—or bounce in a new direction to keep living, loving, moving, and growing? Are you quick to rebound or slow to recover?
Make it a habit to focus on “what is,” good, not what isn’t. I offer this one skill to help strengthen your rebound, but I’m happy to individually coach if you want to play more!
“Resilience isn’t a single skill. It’s a variety of skills and coping mechanisms. To bounce back from bumps in the road as well as failures, you should focus on emphasizing the positive.”
—Jean Chatzky
Motivational Keynote Speaker and Change Expert Susan C. Young helps organizations leverage the power of Change & Resilience to Boost Positivity, Improve Engagement and Transform their Teams to make a POSITIVE IMPACT in life and business. This is an excerpt from her new book, Release the Power of Re3 . . . Review, Redo & Renew for Positive Change & Transformation. To learn more, please visit www.SusanCYoung.com or www.amazon.com/author/susancyoung.
