Resilience
Resilience, the key to facing adversity
We all, at some point, face situations that put us to the test: loss, change and uncertainty. Resilience is not just about withstanding life’s blows, but about the ability to recover, adapt and, in many cases, emerge stronger from them. But how can we practise resilience in our daily lives?
Losing a job, going through a breakup, feeling overwhelmed by anxiety or facing unexpected changes are experiences we all encounter throughout our lives. Learning to manage these processes, stay grounded in the midst of uncertainty and find healthy ways to adapt has become one of the major challenges of our society.
What is resilience?
According to the American Psychological Association, "Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress — such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems or workplace and financial stressors. It means bouncing back from difficult experiences". Imagine a tree stoically standing up against the force of the wind. The term comes from the resistance of materials that bend without breaking and return to their original shape. However, being resilient does not mean enduring everything without being affected or carrying on as if nothing has happened. It is not about repressing emotions, minimising pain or constantly demanding strength from oneself, but about allowing yourself to feel and finding a way to move forward without losing yourself in the process.
We owe the spread of the concept of resilience to Boris Cyrulnik, a French neurologist, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who drew it from the writings of the Englishman John Bowlby, also a psychoanalyst. According to the latter's Attachment Theory, infants who in their early years develop a caring bond with another person will be emotionally stronger despite going through tough experiences, such as crises and war. And, according to Cyrulnik, they are also more resilient, as shown in his famous work The Ugly Ducklings. Resilience: an unhappy childhood does not condition life.
Tips for building resilience
Is a resilient person born or made? Adam Grant, professor of Management and Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and co-author of the book Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, And Finding Joy, believes in the second: "There is a set of behaviours that can be learned naturally and that contribute to resilience".
Although the current of positive psychology focuses its efforts on how to develop resilience from childhood, there are courses of action that allow adults to boost that capacity to face adversity and emerge stronger. As an adult, the factors that cause stress are multiplied, but experiences from earlier life and the learning acquired by controlling emotions — where emotional intelligence plays a key role — work in our favour in becoming more resilient individuals. Below are some tips to help boost your resilience.
Characteristics of a resilient person
There are several common traits among resilient people. However, it is not necessary to possess all of them, as they are skills that can be developed with support and practice. Here are some of them:
Self-awareness and self-confidence
They know their own strengths and weaknesses, which helps them to set goals, identify positive and negative emotions, and, above all, to believe in themselves and improve.
How to work on it: Keep a personal journal to reflect on your achievements and mistakes, practise positive affirmations or seek constructive feedback from friends or colleagues to better understand your abilities.
Empathy and sociability
They have the ability to understand and create emotional ties with other people, establishing positive relationships that allow them to be part of healthy emotional networks that they can use for support.
How to work on it: Listen actively to others without interrupting, offer help to friends or family during difficult times or join community groups that encourage collaboration and mutual support.
Positivity and humour
A positive approach helps when facing adverse situations, because it focuses on the good side of whatever happens. A sense of humour is a great ally too.
How to work on it: Find something good in each day, however small, laugh at your own mistakes instead of punishing yourself or engage in activities that bring joy, such as watching comedies, or playing with children and pets.
Flexibility
Despite having a very clear idea of their goals and the perseverance to achieve them, they also possess sufficient flexibility to adapt their plans and adjust targets when necessary.
How to work on it: Develop “alternative plans” for important goals, accept that mistakes are part of learning and practise creative problem-solving when faced with unexpected obstacles.
Tolerance
They know how to control upsets which in most people produce frustration and doubt in the form of tension or stress.
How to work on it: Practise breathing techniques or meditation, break large challenges into small, manageable steps or take up physical exercise that reduces anxiety, such as walking or swimming.
Creativity
They are able to transform a painful experience into something useful or even beautiful.
How to work on it: Express yourself through art, writing or music, look for original solutions to everyday problems or reinterpret difficult situations as opportunities for learning.
They live in the present
They are used to living in the here and now and they have a great capacity for acceptance. They practice, knowingly or otherwise, a technique like mindfulness.
How to work on it: Dedicate time each day to mindfulness or conscious breathing exercises, limit multitasking and focus on one activity at a time or simply observe and enjoy small everyday moments such as a walk, a coffee or the company of loved ones.
How do we apply resilience at Iberdrola?
At the Iberdrola Group, resilience translates into our ability to anticipate change and adapt to the challenges of the energy sector. To achieve this, we are committed to an innovation model based on continuous investment in R&D&I, which guides our strategy and enables us to successfully navigate a constantly evolving environment.
This culture aims to develop innovative and sustainable technologies across the entire value chain, promoting electrification as a key driver to reduce the carbon footprint and ensure that electricity reaches more parts of the world.
There are uncontrollable adversities, such as natural phenomena, that affect our electrical systems and, therefore, citizens. To strengthen our climate resilience, at Iberdrola we invest in the digitalisation and automation of networks to transform them into smart grids. One example is the PERSEO programme, a startup ecosystem that promotes technologies such as artificial intelligence in the sector. These innovations enable new products and services, improve quality of supply and facilitate the integration of renewable energy and distributed resources such as storage, electric vehicles and heat pumps.