Building Resilience: 5 Habits to Quit Today

Resilience is an essential trait that enables us to bounce back from life's adversities. It's what allows us to recover from difficulties and keep moving forward. However, building resilience is not always easy, especially when certain habits get in the way. Here are five things you need to stop doing if you want to increase your resilience.

1. People Pleasing

It's natural to want to make others happy, but not at the expense of your own happiness or well-being. People pleasing is a habit that often starts in childhood and can carry on into adulthood if not addressed. It can become addictive, leading us to prioritise others' needs over our own. Remember, you exist not just to please others, but for yourself. It's important to establish boundaries and ensure your own needs are met. Stop saying yes to others when it means saying no to yourself.

2. Ignoring Your Gut

Intuition is a powerful tool that often gets overlooked. It's that gut feeling that nudges you when something isn't quite right, or when a decision feels perfectly aligned with your desires and goals. Tune into your own intuition and start trusting yourself more. You often know what the right thing to do is, your body will always communicate with you. Learn to listen and trust these signals.

3. Living in Your Comfort Zone

We all love our comfort zones. They're familiar, safe, and, well, comfortable. But nothing truly exceptional ever happens there. Growth and resilience building occur when we push ourselves beyond our comfort zone. Start saying yes to things you can't do... yet. Embrace the uncertainty and the challenge, and you'll find that you're capable of much more than you thought.

4. Making Excuses

Life is not a dress rehearsal. This is it. We only have one shot at life. Excuses may seem like a comfortable cushion, but in reality, they only hold us back from reaching our full potential. Research shows that a key barrier to humans achieving their goals is that we overestimate the time we have left. Don't put off your dreams and aspirations for 'someday.' Do it now. Stop making excuses and start making progress.

5. Neglecting Yourself

You are the most important project you will ever work on. Your health, happiness, and well-being should always be a priority. Neglecting your own needs for exercise, personal development, and life planning is a sure-fire way to hinder your resilience. Remember to take care of yourself, both physically and emotionally. Prioritise self-care and personal growth, as these are key to building resilience.

In conclusion, building resilience is about more than just weathering the storm—it's about learning how to dance in the rain. By breaking these five habits, you're taking a major step towards becoming more resilient. Remember, it's a journey, not a destination. Stay patient with yourself, celebrate your progress, and keep moving forward.

About The Author

Caroline Dakin

Caroline is our Head of Learning & Development and the founder and owner of Caroline Dakin Associates. Her thought-provoking leadership development programs and workplace resilience courses help businesses across the globe to build high-performing teams. Her unique and interactive delivery style encourages participants to question their leadership qualities and challenges them to, not only reach but surpass their potential. Backed up by neuroscience and supplemented with practical tools, techniques and resources, her training inspires action and change for a better, more resilient workplace. Caroline is also an accomplished speaker and can be found sharing her unique take on resilience at corporate leadership events, national awareness days, industry conferences, and educational seminars.