Resilience is being able to competently meet life’s challenges. It makes you able to adjust to life’s demands and weather the difficulties. Resilient people have good support systems, good stress-management skills, a positive viewpoint, and high self-confidence.

Here are some of the skills resilient people have learned:

• They have learned how to reach out to people that are supportive. This gives them additional support when they need it which helps them to respond to more effectively to problems.
• They look at things optimistically rather than pessimistically. Looking at the positive gives them confidence when facing difficulties.
• They know how to problem solve. Rather than feeling overwhelmed by problems, they hit them head on and figure out what can be done rather than focusing on what they have no power over.
• They know themselves. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses gives you an advantage because you can maximize the things you do well and then get additional support for the things that are hard.
• They are adaptable. They adjust to things by making necessary changes rather than wasting time upset about the things that they cannot change.
• They know how to feel their emotions and yet manage how they express them so they don’t create more problems by emotional reactivity.
• They know how to take care of themselves. They recognize their needs and proactively find ways to meet them.
• They have good self-esteem. This gives them confidence in meeting challenges and for doing what it takes to take care of themselves.
• They trust themselves to know what they need and to respond to problems wisely.

If you don’t have resilience, begin working on the skills you need to develop to become resilient.

By Karla Downing
 

Relationship Devotional Prayer

 
God,

Help me to work on developing the skills I need to be resilient.
 

Relationship Devotional Challenge

• How resilient are you?
• What do you need to do to become more resilient?

Scripture Meditation

 
Proverbs 24:10

“If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!” (NIV).