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While sifting through the vast quality of articles, newsletters and reports in my Braintenance Inbox, I came across an interesting "News Release" written and distributed by PsychTests that truly resonated with me. It's about why some of us survive and actually thrive under the trials of adversity, while others crumble and become embittered to the point of immobility. Please read on...
Diagnosis:
Attitude Problem – PsychTests’ Study Reveals How The
Trait Of Resilience Affects Well-being
Research
by PsychTests.com
indicates that resilient people approach stress,
challenge, and life in a way that boosts their
well-being.
Montreal,
Canada – November 3, 2015 – Attitude is everything. The
Buddha wisely said that “The secret of health for both
mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry
about the future, not to anticipate the future, but to
live the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
So
what makes some people so resilient in the face of
seemingly insurmountable challenges? Research conducted
at PsychTests using the Hardiness
Test
reveals that resilient people take a unique approach
toward life that can be summed up in three words:
Commitment, Control, and Challenge.
When
people share stories that depict the indomitability of
the human spirit – overcoming the physical and mental
challenge of climbing Mount Everest, surviving in a
war-torn country, conquering a potentially fatal illness
– listeners and admirers can’t help but wonder two
things: “Where did they get the strength to endure and
fight?” and “If I were in their shoes, how could I have
coped?”
Resilient,
hardy, or mentally tough people view and approach their
world in a unique way. A study conducted by the
researchers at PsychTests reveals that these “tough
cookies” do more than survive – they thrive. And the
secret to their survival is a simple formula: Commit +
Control + Challenge = Success.
Resilient
individuals commit themselves to every activity they
take on, no matter how trivial. They take responsibility
for their actions and their life (i.e. they have an
internal locus of control). Finally, they view a
stressful situation as a challenge to overcome, rather
than as a permanent setback or obstacle.
PsychTests’
research also reveals other information about how hardy
people strive to thrive:
· 71%
accept change when it is required (compared to 14% of
people who are not hardy).
· 83%
can find something enjoyable in even the most mundane
tasks (compared to 2% of people who are not hardy).
· 98%
are actively involved in hobbies or other leisure
activities (compared to 50% of people who are not
hardy).
· 91%
believe that they are in full control of their destiny
(compared to 26% of people who are not hardy).
· 93%
look forward to their day (compared to 8% of people who
are not hardy).
· 94%
find ways to “spice up” everyday tasks (e.g. listening
to music while cleaning; rewarding themselves after
getting all the cleaning done, etc.), compared to 18% of
people who are not hardy.
· When
they fail at something, 80% use it as motivation to try
harder next time (compared to 5% of people who are not
hardy).
· In
the last year, 18% of hardy people in the PsychTests’
study took more than 3 sick days last year. Of the
people who are not hardy, 47% took more than 3 sick
days.
· 58%
of hardy people exercise 3 or more times per week,
compared to 24% of people who are not hardy.
· 79%
of hardy people eat a healthy diet, compared to 33% of
people who are not hardy.
“Hardiness
isn’t a trait you are born with. It’s built through
trial, failure, determination, and perseverance,”
explains Dr.
Jerabek, president of PsychTests.
“Resilient people still go through moments when they
feel like giving up, or when they don’t see any possible
solution to their problem – but they keep plodding on.
They choose to believe that they will find a way out of
the situation, and that things can and will get better.
Most importantly, resilient people understand that the
challenges they go through are not meant to break them
but to make them stronger, wiser, and even more
determined. And the only difference between hardy people
and those who crumble under stress is not in their
experiences, but rather how they interpret them.
Resilience is a purely mental. Your ability to overcome
a problem, setback, stressor, or challenge depends
entirely on how you view it.”
PsychTests
offers some tips to boost hardiness:
· Take
pleasure in the small victories. Even
the hardest occupations have moments when you can stop
and savor a job well done, a person helped, or a
difficult task accomplished. By stopping for a moment to
reflect on your accomplishment, you can begin to feel
less overwhelmed and more satisfied with the work that
you are doing.
· Accept
that you’re going to have bad days. Even
people who are naturally positive, upbeat, and love what
they are doing in life have a day where it seems like
everything that could possibly go wrong does go awry.
However, those bad days here and there don't stop them
from appreciating the overall positives in their lives.
If you tend to become pessimistic after a bad stretch,
fight against the tendency by reminding yourself of the
good things. And if a situation or issue is really
becoming a thorn in your side, try taking the long view.
Think about how you will feel about the situation in
ten years. Either you will think nothing of it, or you
will regret not doing anything. Regardless, you will
gain motivation to move on with your life, either
working to overcome the setback or to move on.
· Take
a step back when a challenge overwhelms you.
Getting out of the situation for just a little bit will
help you relax and put things in perspective. Try
breathing techniques, meditation, or simply changing to
a different task to get your mind off of the difficult
undertaking. Sometimes, when a molehill looks like a
mountain all it takes to regain perspective is to talk
it over with a friend who can offer objective insight
and help you outline steps for the future.
· Know
the benefits of having an internal locus of control. Although
taking responsibility for your actions may sometimes
cause you to feel disappointed in yourself (e.g.
accepting blame for a failure), it also leads to greater
self-motivation and a more active attitude towards life.
People who feel that they have control over the outcome
of their actions are more likely to take ownership of
their behavior and exert a concentrated effort to learn,
improve, and grow.
·
Eliminate
"cognitive shortcuts.” These
are automatic, habitual, deeply-ingrained and
self-defeating ways of thinking, and often consist of
some variation of the following: “I’ll never be able to
do this because I’m too
old/poor/weak/scared/uneducated/ugly/fat etc. These
negative thoughts are surefire success-killers because
they lead to self-fulfilling prophecies. Stop these
shortcuts in their tracks. Dig deeper to determine why
you feel this way about yourself. Is this something you
were told growing up? Do you have proof that this
thought is true? Are there examples of moments in your
life when this was NOT true? What would be a better,
healthier way of viewing this situation – and yourself?
###
Thank you, as always, for reading me. I hope that you enjoyed the News Release reproduced above!
Douglas E. Castle
BRAINTENANCE: Train, Strain And Improve Your Brain. Expand Your Mind.
http://braintenance.blogspot.com
Braintenance contains articles, resources, exercises, games and specially-designed protocols to improve the power of your brain and your mind in every significant aspect, including memory, cognition, IQ, plasticity, creativity and problem-solving ability.
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