I’m going to open up this blog with a small scene-setting. You may notice from the date of publication that the UK is in the grip of a pandemic; something unseen in my lifetime, and many others. This is not isolated to us, but global, and the internet is revealing some amazing things. People are coming together in a wonderful way; sharing their entrepreneurial insights, creating online and local communities to help and sharing inspiration and interesting things. There are, however, people that are capitalising on the worry; this is what makes me uncomfortable about sharing this at this time. Now, this blog was ALWAYS going to run this week. Thanks to the advice of the lovely Charlotte from Brand Remarkable, I now have a habit of scheduling my blog ideas in advance. I never knew when I wrote the title “How to stay resilient in an ever-changing world”, at the end of 2019, how relevant this blog would be right now.

The one thing that we can guarantee in life is that things can change – life is predictably unpredictable. However much planning and research we can do, there we have to trust that our decisions and reactions to situations are the best ones. When life is ticking along nicely, we don’t have to consider our WHY in life. We don’t sit back and create Plan Bs or Plan Cs if our Plan A is working. But for most of us, there will occasions in our life where circumstances outside of our control derail our life. It could be personal – bereavement, redundancy, relationships – national or global – recession, health, politics – come and interrupt our status quo. I have been through some of these elements personally, and wanted to share with you some of the ways I have worked my way through them,

How to stay resilient in an ever-changing world

Pay attention to what we can control
In times of crisis, it’s easy to make ourselves feel like we are being productive through worrying. Let me tell you it’s just empty energy. But, one of the ways to overcome uncertainty – and if you have ever read a blog from me before, you will know that the human brain HATES uncertainly – is to act. Pay attention to what you can control. It doesn’t matter how small that is but make it a productive and positive step!

Be aware of what you need
For anyone to stay resilient there are certain things we need to maintain, every day. The basics, like health, sleep, and financial security are obvious, but they are an essential part of staying physically and emotionally well. The others, such as learning stress management techniques, and feeling connected within a community as just as important. These are things that will help you stay emotionally strong and purposeful through hard times. So, stop now and think about how you can add these into your life now?

Ask for help!
This is a hard one for me. I won’t lie. But, at my lowest resilience ebb after bereavement and mental health issues, asking for help was the number one thing that made a difference. This was practical help and emotional help. So, consider that. What do you need? What conversations can you have?
On the flip side, which also helps with connection and the sense of community, how could you help others? What could you share or volunteer?

This will soon pass
Nothing is permanent. Even a change becomes the norm eventually – the new way of living or behaving or working. So, remember that whilst life does change it goes on. There are some things that never return to how they were before, and for some of that, it’s a sad observation. But for other parts, there are things that learned, adjusted, improved or an awareness that you can do without.

So there are my tips to stay resilient in an ever-changing world. What would you add? Come and join Creating Careers to Enjoy on Facebook to join a supportive community today!

Want to read more about resilience? Check out this book review for “The Resilience Club”