How To Become More Resilient

Online, March 25, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The work place is often a very stressful place to be. Things never seem to turn out exactly as you planned. Things go wrong. Arguments erupt over really petty things. And on, and on, and on ...

Problems at work are a fact of life. They can't be avoided, so it's important to have the right tools in place to deal with them when they arise. The 'right tools' can be summed up in a single word - resilience.

The first article below talks about the unbelievable resilience being demonstrated by the Japanese in the face of unimaginable amounts of stress and heartache. Workplace problems pale into insignificance in comparison with what the Japanese people are currently facing, so we can undoubtedly learn a great deal from how they cope and pick themselves up.

The second article provides a simple checklist to enhance your resilience in the workplace.

Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8: The Power Of Japanese Resilience:

They say that in times of crisis people show their true character. Anyone can be cooperative, patient, and understanding when things are going well and life is good. But it is the noble man or woman who can behave with grace and compassion and even kindness when times are very, very bad.

For many people in Northern Japan right now, the times could not be worse. And yet, at least to the outside observer, the manner in which the Japanese people conducted themselves in the aftermath of this calamity has been remarkable.

Foreign reporters are amazed:

Because of the crisis in Japan we have been inundated with news crews from around the world. Without exception the foreign news reporters have been impressed with the amazing resilience of the Japanese people.

CNN's Anderson Cooper last Monday went on and on about how impressed he's been at the cooperative nature of the Japanese in the disaster zones. He described how he saw people who had waited hours in long lines for water suddenly be told that the distribution center had just run out of supplies. He expected to hear complaining or worse (imagine how this may play out in your own country), but was shocked to see that no one complained, no one became angry or made an incident.

Seemingly every media outlet abroad commented on this remarkable aspect of Japanese society.

Construction-destruction-construction:

Over twenty years ago when I first started working in Japan, I noticed that transferring many people to different parts of he company was a common practice. It seemed disruptive and a bit of an upheaval to me then, but my boss explained that this kind of change was important for people to learn all aspects of the business. And besides, he said, this kind of tearing down and building up again is all apart of life in Japan.

I remember he called it "construction and destruction...and then construction again." He reminded me that Japan is an island nation with a history of calamities including volcanoes, typhoons, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis, and in recent history, the horrible consequences of war, including two atomic bombings. No matter the crisis, however, Japan always bounces back.

This ability to recover and grow stronger has much to do with a culture that values personal responsibility and hard work, but also humility and a sense of belonging to and contributing to a community.

Wa (å'Œ) or harmony, then, is a key value in Japanese society. One can indeed live a life in the pursuit of individual happiness and self-actualization while at the same time living a life that values being a part of a community and contributing to the society in which one lives.

Fall down 7 times, get up 8:

Japanese culture and ways of thinking can not be adequately addressed in a short space, but this Japanese proverb reflects an important and shared ideal: "Nana korobi ya oki" (literally: seven falls, eight getting up) means fall down seven times and get up eight.

This speaks to the Japanese concept of resilience. No matter how many times you get knocked down, you get up again. Even if you should fall one thousand times, you just keep getting up and trying again. You can see this ethic reinforced in all facets of Japanese culture including education, business, sports, the martial arts the Zen arts, etc.

It is especially important to remember the sentiment expressed in this proverb when times are dark. There are no quick fixes in life and anything of real worth will necessarily take much struggle and perseverance. Success does not have to be fast-what's more important is that one simply does their absolute best and remains persistent.

Visit the link below to read the rest of this inspiring article:

http://www.managementnuggets.com/2011/03/how-to-become-more-resilient.html

Enhancing Your Resilience At Work:

Why is it that some people are overwhelmed by stress at work and others maintain their well-being despite the challenges? Why are some people so resistant to workplace change, while others take control of the process? Why is it that some people harbour grudges over frustrations at work, where others will simply get over it, learn what they can, and get on with the future?

The answer is resilience - our ability to bounce back and adjust to challenges that life sends our way. It is our self-righting mechanism, our ability to restore our equilibrium, when it has been disrupted.

Resiliency is primarily learned behaviour - the choices we make in how we think and behave when faced with adversity. We cannot always control what happens to us, we can only control our responses.

Resilience is not always obvious - it only comes into play when we are tested. Our response to adversity will certainly demonstrate how resilient we are.

Resilience can be displayed in many different ways. In individuals, it is often seen as optimism, resourcefulness, and determination. In teams, it is seen when team members support each other at work and solve problems creatively. Because individuals and teams display resiliency in different ways, there are no universal rules for success.

We often think about risk factors such as poverty, ill-health, prolonged stress, and negative relationships as highly detrimental to an individual's well-being and ability to achieve. For many people, risk factors are certainly detrimental, affecting individuals through depression, anxiety, withdrawal, ill-health, or poor performance.

But others somehow use their challenges as a springboard for growth. This is resiliency - and it is more common than it is not. Although the majority of people go through major stressors and tough life experiences, the majority of us draw on our resiliency and go on to recover from adversity and continue to build satisfying and productive lives.

Resilience research certainly proves the lack of predictive power of risk factors - unless we create self-fulfilling labels based on them. For example, some people start to expect to be treated badly by their workplace and then find evidence to support this expectation.

A theme that comes up regularly in the research is that a resilient individual is one who works well, plays well, loves well, and expects well.

Visit the link below to read the full article:

http://www.managementnuggets.com/2011/03/how-to-become-more-resilient.html