By Tim Schneider

Resilience is the ability to respond back to a productive and useful state after an incident or set-back. Many people, especially those in leadership positions, report their resilience has been hampered or reduced with increased time and stress on their jobs.

Steps to Improving Resilience:

1. Build and utilize relationships. People are the best possible support mechanism in times of difficulty. Rely on family, friends and co-workers.

2. Maintain physical health. A healthy system will greatly enhance the ability to respond.

3. Use humor as a coping skill. Laugh at the situation. Laugh at yourself and your response to the situation.

4. Provide assistance to others. Helping others often provides the esteem that aides in personal resilience.

5. Devote time and energy to other projects. A failure within a single focused individual can be devastating. Diversify your interests and seek satisfaction in other areas.

6. Obtain knowledge and history about the situation. Know about what to expect and past outcomes.

7. Avoid seeing difficult times as insurmountable. Difficult times pass as do successful times. All part of the circle of life.

8. Establish and maintain positive image and self-talk.

9. Maintain hope and optimism.

10. Accept and embrace change.

11. Continue headway towards longer term objectives. Even in chaos and difficulty, progress towards meaningful objectives.

12. Take decisive actions. Do not be a victim. Be active and do something.

13. Maintain perspective.

14. Keep routines during difficult times. Routines help grounding and grounding helps perspective. It is also a great distraction from difficulties.