Additional pressure may initially lead to improvement but you will soon feel your performance is stagnating, while work-related pressure and stress will increase. When crises, industry volatility, social shifts or workplace pressures cause stress, it's time to reflect on how to increase resilience and manage to bounce back from obstacles and failures.
Excessive pressure creates narrow thinking and reduces the ability to see things in context, thereby often increasing error rates. At the same time, the pressure activates the body's stress response, releasing harmful hormones which then affect your mood and health.
The first step you should take to increase your resilience is to identify situations in which you feel too pressurised. Make a note of what causes these pressures. If you are able to define pressures and triggers, you can work on ways to create a personal resilience reserve.
How to increase personal resilience?
There are a number of usable strategies; here are four basic ones you can bounce off.
1. Look for a different angle
It is helpful to know what is causing your feelings of stress. When you feel overwhelmed, threatened or in conflict, think of alternative ways to characterise the situation. Examine the situation from a different perspective. Ask yourself what else could happen. Ask yourself, "What are the benefits of this situation?" For example, if your senior teammate resigns, you can focus on losing talent as a manager, or take it as an opportunity to promote and raise another skilled colleague in the team.
2. Sleep on it
Sleep is vital because it allows the brain to move from receiving new inputs to coding, processing and integrating everyday experiences in a way that makes them available for future use. In short: sleep is a biological source of resilience that many leaders still do not take full advantage of. Adequate sleep can lead to increased attention and creativity, as well as the capacity needed especially in leadership positions.
3. Find a replacement for sleep
Sometimes it is impossible to spend enough time sleeping. If you simply can't get the amount you need, just take a break during the day. Try to meditate with a short nap, walk or yoga. These practices will divert your attention from the specific situation and give your mind a chance to transcend stressful thoughts.
4. Examine the power of positivity
Positivity is a broad concept encompassing many positive emotions including love, joy, recognition, hope, composure and amusement. Research has shown that positivity helps people recover from failures. Researchers have found that when people are in a positive state of mind, they think in a broader context than when in a negative state of mind. So seek the "good" in every situation. One way to achieve this is to keep a diary of gratitude, where you record 3-5 things a day you have managed for that day. Positive emotions can create sources of resilience you will have in reserve when facing adversity at work.
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