Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress. Sports offer athletes a unique environment in which they can develop resilience that they can use throughout their lives, inside and outside of the athletic arena. Key elements of resilience include:
Notice that the first key aspect of resilience requires that you experience something difficult or stressful. So, to develop into a more resilient athlete and human being you must be exposed to difficult situations, in and out of sport. It’s that idea of learning by doing – you cannot learn how to be more resilient until you have faced a situation where you are forced to figure out how to use that skill. Duke basketball coach Kara Lawson talks about the importance of handling hard better. What she is talking about here is building resilience. Athletes develop resilience over time when they are repeatedly exposed to adverse situations where they have to develop and use adaptive skills to bounce back. Some examples of stressful situations that require resilience in athletics include pressure to perform, high training loads, injuries, demands by coaches, conflicts with teammates, internal and external expectations, high stakes competitions, among many others.
You do not develop resilience alone, especially in sports. Building resilience is a dynamic process that reflects an interaction between the individual and their environment, meaning your ability to cope with stress and positively adapt to adversity is related to the system (e.g., team, institution, etc.) in which you are embedded as well as the individual psychological ups and downs we all experience over time as human beings. People who are resilient tend to possess skills and traits such as perseverance, trust in one’s instincts, the ability to tolerate negative emotions, flexibility in adapting to changing circumstances, and acceptance of oneself and one’s life situation. Being resilient requires a courageous and direct approach to difficult situations rather than avoiding them. Resilient athletes fully acknowledge the reality of stressful events, rather than denying their existence.
Next time you find yourself faced with a difficult situation see if you can look at it as an opportunity to build resilience. Challenge yourself to find ways to positively adapt to it rather than succumb to the devastating situation. See if you can find new ways of coping with stress that work for you and call upon others for help you when you need it. Resilience is not a fixed attribute. Resilience grows the more you are exposed to difficult situations and courageously find a way to bounce back.
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