Resilience isn’t pushing through in survival mode – there’s a better way.

I’ve recently learned a new definition of resilience – feeling good and functioning well.

This challenged my belief that to be resilient I had to be strong and have the grit to push through when I had nothing left to give. But really, who is performing at their best when they are in survival mode or merely trying to push through?  No one, that’s who.

So how can you move from ‘pushing through’ to feeling good and functioning well?

It starts with awareness and keeping a close eye on your battery.  At a resilience workshop where I learned this concept, I loved it.  I became more aware of how energised I was feeling and when I needed to stop and re-charge to avoid getting depleted.

Be aware of your battery level

Imagine you have a battery – green is a full 4 bars, yellow is 3 bars, brown is 2 bars and red is one bar. 

When you’re feeling good and functioning well you are in the green zone.  You’re getting things done and despite being busy, you feel energised.  If you remain aware of which zone you’re operating in, you can do things to keep you in the green/yellow zone and avoid dipping into the red. 

Just like you reach for the phone charger when the battery dips below what you need to get through the rest of the day, the same needs to be done for your own ‘battery’.

How can you keep yourself feeling good and functioning well?

• Eat well and drink plenty of water
• Keep moving
• Take time to pause
• Get plenty of sleep
• Find small and quick ways to re-charge during the day