Five Simple Ways to Increase Your Resilience

Every day as I walk the halls of Fellowship Square-Mesa I am reminded of what resilient people live in our community. Residents who have overcome a set-back of some kind but demonstrate to everyone their capacity to recover and bounce back. According to the dictionary the definition of resilience is just that, “the capacity to recover from difficulties and bounce back.” Here are five ways to increase your resilience as you age:

1) Education. Learning everything you can about your situation by doing things such as attending a health & wellness class, a lifelong learning class, a support groups or meet with your physician; ask questions and be curious about your situation.

 2) Accept. You may not be able to do everything you did before in the way that you did it but resilient people discover a way to overcome their limitations and explore a new reality. Find a new sense of purpose; look for ways that you can make a difference in your community.

3) Seek. Understand fully what is really going on, including how you may have played a role in causing the adversity. Changing your diet or increasing exercise may be simple things that might have a big impact.

4) Spiritual. The power of prayer, the support of your family, or friends. Identify positive believes in your abilities; write them down and read them every day.

 5) Believe. Know that you can make a difference in the future despite the constraints imposed by reality. Develop a strong social network. Reconnect with that old friend or make a new friend.

Jon Scott Williams,

Executive Director

Fellowship Square-Mesa