A knotty debate has always ensued over the nature of resilience. There is no controversy over the fact that individuals with grit or the ability to bounce back in the face of adversity, to keep going no matter the odds, tend to end up smiling and successful at the end of the day. Other emotional and social skills are also important, such as good interpersonal relationships, emotional intelligence, etc. The debate is usually over what the ingredients for success entail, and whether or not it is inherited or learned. If it can be learned, what steps should one take? We will discuss these issues below.

Q: Are people born with resilience or can it be acquired through training and practice?

A: While it is true that everyone is not born with the same temperament, and some people are naturally more patient than others, some are more optimistic and not easily frustrated by negative events compared to others. This is an incontrovertible fact.

However, the converse is also true – that people can learn to be more patient in the face of adversity and can learn not to be frustrated with setbacks, and that with perseverance and hard work, success is all but assured. A friend's comment captured the scenario brilliantly as follows: "Resilience is an innate gift for a few, but a satisfying reward for as many as work to achieve it."

The process of learning how to master our emotions and convert negative emotional reactions (or negative patterns of thinking) into positive and constructive channels is essentially what some forms of "talk therapy" (psychotherapy) aim to achieve. And they have shown very positive results, once individuals can realize how they tend to fall into a negative pattern of reactive thinking about events, which is ultimately hurting them and causing them distress. More often than not, they are usually very pleasantly surprised to see how changing their approach and reactions can translate into much better outcomes for themselves.

Q: Can you give a prescription or step by step guidance on how to master and develop resilience?

A: Unfortunately, there is no magic pill that I can prescribe to make you wake up tomorrow as a changed, very resilient and optimistic version of yourself. Having said that, the reality is that it is a slow, but steadily positive pathway that yields benefits slowly over time. You need to be consistent with it, and even where things don't go as well as planned and you find yourself reverting to your old ways, it is still alright. Just recognize it and then resolve to do better moving forward.

The 5 principles outlined below are helpful towards acquiring resilience and building our emotional muscles:

Dr. Jibril Abdulmalik
Tribune Article for the column "Your Mental Health & You"
Thursday, 9th May 2024
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