Resilience: Lessons from Rio
It seems barely a moment since the 2016 Rio Olympics, but looking back at them, there were some simply stunning feats of human endeavour.
Amongst all of the medals, there were some real tests of character; Mo Farrah falling during the 10,000 metres final and Jason Kenny having to cope with the pressure of two false starts in the kierin cycling final. Both of those ‘blips’ could have resulted in both athletes finishing out of contention, but it didn’t because both Farrah and Kenny showed real resilience to put both distractions out of mind and remained focused on their ultimate goal.
However, these were only two of the many Rio stories, with others coming back from potential career ending injuries to gain podium places. So what is resilience and how can these Olympian experiences help us all in reaching our true potential?
As can be seen from the examples above, resilience means having strength to recover from setbacks, but there is another crucial part of resilience which is retaining an open mind or having an element of ‘elasticity’ to change a plan or approach where necessary. Strength of character alone (or just wanting something) can only get us so far, but when coupled with open-mindedness, flexibility and an ability to adapt in new situations, it can produce surprising results.
So how can we develop our resilience to stay on the journey of reaching our true potential? Some of the following may help:
1. Understand that setbacks or having a bad day are not failure, but learning points:
Everyone experiences setbacks, but by not dwelling on them, you can use those learning points to your benefit.
2. Never think that you have limited potential:
It’s easy to think that when you’re having a difficult time, but by doing so, you limit your ability to learn new skills and to improve.
3. Rebound positively from setbacks:
Blaming yourself or others for setbacks doesn’t help you to move forward, it just dwells on negativity. Where something doesn’t work or you don’t understand something, there’s normally a reason for that and trying the same thing again won’t improve it. By trying a new approach (sometimes subtly different), you might just find an easier way forward.
4. Always be willing to learn from mistakes and don’t be afraid of them:
Mistakes are often just a result of lack of awareness or bad habits. Be prepared to readapt and ensure that you are in an environment which encourages and fosters learning; otherwise, that may stifle your potential.
5. Have clear steps and overall goals that you want to achieve:
As Benjamin Franklin reportedly once said, if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!
6. Try different approaches and experiences:
We can all have particular careers that we aspire to, but skills used in any one vocation are often adaptable to others. Trying different things can open the mind to creativity, which in turn can make us more productive and help us to develop new interests and possible future new or ancillary careers.
7. Recognise when you’re finding things difficult:
Hitting an obstacle in any career can be difficult and frustrating. It’s always important to have an impartial mentor or teacher who can listen and help you with constructive options to remove the inertia.
8. Appreciate that you’re human, not super-human and that things take time to develop:
Take the time to stop, assess things realistically and allow yourself to develop at your own pace. We all develop at our own individual rate and it’s important not to be distracted by others when looking at our own development. If you try and develop too quickly or feel pressure on yourself to do so, you may not be building the correct foundations to allow you to really fly in the future.
9. Enjoy what you do & don’t give up just because of other peoples’ opinions:
If you’re not enjoying what you do, try something subtly different, something a little different or something completely different! However, that’s not to say that you should give up on something completely. Many a critic has panned a new book or piece of music only for it to become a best seller or masterpiece in months or years to come!
