How important is personal resilience for a graduate?

Resilience is the topic of the moment and it’s certainly one that is becoming more and more popular through business thinking. A steady theme amongst the range of resilience definitions is a sense of acclimatisation and recovery in the face of hardship and change. For graduates transitioning from university to full time work, resilience is one skill certainly worth investing in.

What is resilience?

Many describe resilience as a skill that allows certain individuals to bend as opposed to break when faced by obstacles. It’s also having the ability to persist and adapt when faced with tests. If resilience is a talent of yours, you’ll most likely have the ability to aid others when it comes to being more open and willing to pursue new and exciting opportunities. In this sense, resilience is more than just endurance; it is about being able to let go, all whilst learning to grow.

Use past experiences to your advantages

Whether you’ve undergone a life changing experience or overcome a hurdle you once believed to be too high, past experiences make you who you are today. These experiences, when applied to work and study, allow you to perform at an extremely high standard.

How to deal with resilience

Of course, when it comes to dealing with adversity, almost everyone has his or her own personal coping strategy or strategies in place. Listed below are a few tried and tested tactics:

Accept your current situation

Most of us like to be in control, whether in our personal lives or post university. However, there will be certain situations where you are faced with the challenge of placing your trust in others’ hands. Instead of becoming anxious about the situation, it’s important to accept it. Learning to go with the flow is a much greater use of your energy. For example, if you overlook a deadline, instead of becoming annoyed with yourself, gather all of the energy you can muster and apply it to completing the project as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Tips for accepting your current situation

• Fighting a situation that you’re unable to change is more often than not a waste of personal resources. Accept the situation and move on.
• Acceptance will allow you to avoid stress and anxiety – two emotions that will only hinder your situation even further.
• Where appropriate, it’s important to let go.

Take personal responsibility
Life is extremely unpredictable at times, especially when you’re juggling study with home and work life. If you haven’t already experienced various setbacks, it’s highly likely you will. It’s imperative to accept you can’t always control what happens each and every day. Instead of dwelling on setbacks, learn from them.

Tips for taking personal responsibility

• Avoid blaming others for your own impediments – even if it is their fault. Anger is a waste of time and energy and it’s one that will do anything but help you to excel.
• If you’re a graduate in a new working environment, it’s likely you’re going to slip up at some point. It’s not the slip-up however that will determine the rest of your career; it’s how you handle it. If you’re in total control of your response to any setback, you’re bound to come out stronger on the other side.

Be positive

Positivity is a great trait to have, especially if you’re a graduate. Going from university to full time work can be a difficult transition. However, if you’re positive – you’re bound to recognise any negative aspects that may arise and turn them into opportunities instead of obstacles. A positive attitude is a great tool to have if you wish to bounce back from challenging experiences and adversity.

Tips for staying positive:

• Make a sensible decision to confront each negative thought and turn it into a positive thought.
• Remember that every life experience, whether good or bad, will teach you a valuable lesson.
• Keep in mind that attitude has a huge impact on those around you and also, your own experiences.
• Even if you’re having a bad day, remember it’s just that. Instead of dwelling on all the things that have gone wrong, think back to a successful past experience. Remember what you did to achieve this success and apply a similar thinking to any existing projects.

Being a resilient person requires both equal amounts of effort and practice. Sometimes you may feel a little like you’re taking one step forward and several back; however the key is to stay positive. The quicker you allow yourself to recover, the quicker you can move on.

Sources: https://www.trainingjournal.com/articles/feature/personal-resilience