At this year’s Convergence, we had the pleasure of welcoming best-selling author and international consultant specialist, Liggy Webb. Liggy’s presentation on day two centred around the importance of personal resilience in a volatile and uncertain world, where we often have to deal with a multitude of challenges. Liggy discussed, and gave advice on, how organisations, and individuals can handle the ups and downs better, and here’s a teaser of what she covered…
Living in a VUCA world
VUCA is an acronym that means volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. The word derives from military vocabulary and describes some of the situations we find ourselves in. However, as a whole the VUCA world is quite negative. Instead, we should focus on the positive VUCA — vision, understanding, clarity and agility. Created by Dr Bob Johansen, the positive VUCA creates an environment where people can thrive even in turbulent times. And during these times, the ability to be resilient is essential.
From the Latin word resilio, meaning ‘to jump back’, resilience describes the ability to cope and recover from a series of setbacks or persevere and adapt when faced with change. Being a resilient person is more than just being able to survive, it is also about learning and growing as a person. But how do you become more resilient and what strategies can you put in place to help you make a positive difference?
The 10 key strategies:
- Take a journey of self-discovery
The best way to grow as a person is to understand yourself and examine the value you give yourself. Self-awareness and self-confidence will help you cope with stress and recover from any challenges you have faced. Listen to yourself and seek feedback from others, perhaps ask your colleagues or family for some feedback on your strengths and weaknesses. It’s important to remain open-minded through your journey and take steps to make positive changes in your life. - See the glass half-full
Having a positive attitude is a powerful tool and remaining optimistic, even in the face of negativity will help you learn and grow. Embrace your mistakes and instead of viewing them as problems, see them as new learning opportunities. Try not to create your own self limitations, take personal responsibility for everything you do and don’t adopt a victim mentality, you’ll feel happier and more positive if you embrace an optimist outlook in life. - Take emotional control
Make a real effort to manage your emotions and responses. Learning how to regulate and control your emotions will not only help you to cope with situations better but it will help you to understand other people’s emotions better. - Change for the better
Change can be scary, but instead of running away from it, you should embrace it. Take time to understand why the change is happening and be open-minded about the consequences. Seek out the opportunities this change will bring and allow yourself time to understand your own emotions concerning this change. - Cope well with conflict
“An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind”, a famous and important quote from Mahatma Gandhi which rings true to strategy number five. Try to understand the benefits of conflict and seek out mutually beneficial outcomes. Remember to see the conflict from the other person’s eyes and actively listen so you can fully understand the situation. - Embrace probortunities
View your problems as opportunities. Understand each problem that arises and determine a strategy to help you find a solution. Learning to be better at making decision will help you to move forward and the next time a problem arises, you’ll be even better equipped to fix it. You have to start somewhere! - Look after yourself
Self-care is key, particularly in this hectic world but that doesn’t mean sleeping in until 12pm or partying every night. Remember to feed your body with food that nourishes you and exercise to increase your endorphins and overall fitness. Perhaps you could buy a pedometer and walk 10,000 steps a day or even reduce the alcohol you consume. - Make positive connections
Be open to exploring new relationships and nurture your existing ones. Whenever you feel low, reach out to others and make an effort to connect. Support is important and building better relationships will help you through challenging times. - Let go of the past and keep going
You are responsible for your own happiness, so take personal responsibility and learn to let go of the past. Remember to be grateful for what you have right now and seek out help if you need it. Look for inspirational books and resources and establish healthy coping mechanisms. - Create a personal vision
This is your life and you have the power to choose how you live it. Decide what is important to you, believe in yourself and make it happen.
Want more? These 10 key strategies from Liggy’s book, Resilience, show you how to deal with, and overcome challenging times in your life. Each strategy applies to both your personal and professional life. So, whether you are dealing with challenge at home or in the workplace, these strategies can help you learn to cope and grow as a person.
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