Resilience must include observable behaviors for it to be made manifest in someone’s life. If someone only thinks of resilience-oriented thoughts but never acts upon them, then they would not be labeled as a resilient individual. If they puruse ideas of overcoming but fail to allow those ideas to motivate them towards positive, adaptive behaviors in the face of hardship, then those ideas did not, in the end, serve them well. Thus, it makes sense that individuals who score high in resilience consistently make identifiable, proactive choices in their daily lives. They proactively look for strategies to effectively overcome their struggles instead of denying or avoiding them, and they choose to implement these strategies in ways that effectively alters the trajectory that would otherwise be predictable based on the typical expectation of what occurs in a majority sample of individuals who have also faced the same, or similar, adversities. Therefore, to be labeled as a resilient individual, resilience-promoting behaviors will undoubtedly be evident in that person’s life, seen in their regular habits and routines that they deliberately maintain.
The fact that individuals are malleable towards developing new habits of behavior even in the face of adversity highlights the very heart of resilience. It is not enough to make a deliberate choice toward healthy and adaptive functioning only once, or only once in a while. That single effort will not be enough to thwart the downward gravitational pull that hardships exact on someone’s mental and emotional frame. Adversity is tough, by virtue of its very nature, and it will not bring out the best in someone on its own. Its natural pull is to destroy and wreak havoc. Thus, it is completely understandable why some people’s lives devolve under life’s consistent pressures and demise. But the fact that not every person experiences life destruction in the face of adversity is what is intriguing, because that becomes tangible evidence proving the existence of resilience. It is not enough to see evidence once or twice of someone’s resistance to this negative gravitational pull. Rather, true resilience is meted out by the presence of observable lifestyle patterns that override the annihilation of that person’s internal operating system that could otherwise stir hopelessness and tempt them to quit. The efforts expended to resist that downward pull and to exert strength to literally do the opposite, to rise above instead of to sink, reveals the empowering quality that resilience has on individual’s lives.
Resilience-promoting behaviors can be studied and replicated just as research on disciplined living has highlighted how successful people implement predictable routines of good choices in their daily lives. The regular practice of resilient behaviors offers an evolving capacity for increased insight and growth, creating an increasing source of strength that can be consistently accessed by these individuals. Reflecting on how resilience-oriented choices enabled them to overcome past adversities empowers these individuals to repeat those successful lifestyle behaviors during subsequent trials. Anchored in their prior successes of having emerged better through trial, their ability to look ahead and apply those same behavioral strategies to new, upcoming challenges occurs quicker and with more confidence. They have cracked their own code and they know what works for them, saving them from wasting time in the mire bemoaning how to overcome current setbacks. The behaviors demonstrated by resilient individuals reflect creative responses to hardship, involving nuanced ways to respond to situations that others may not consider. This results in noticeable personal growth and again, fuels them to continue these behaviors due to their ongoing effectiveness. Four specific behavioral choices that facilitate resilience have been most commonly identified through literature. These include: prioritizing meaningful social connections, performing healthy, physical self-care routines, implementing consistent skills to emotionally self-regulate, and maintaining realistic, yet balanced, cognitive appraisal styles (i.e. appraisals are the ways someone interprets their own successes and failures). Self-reflection and mindfulness have also proven to be successful resilience-promoting practices, as they facilitate stress reduction, pain management, increased empathy, and overall well-being. Those who engage in regular self-reflection and meaningful spiritual practices, meditation, and mindfulness fare well in resilience outcomes because these practices promote self-awareness and self-control instead of surrendering to one’s base compulsions or less virtuous choices when under pressure. Research indicates that those who emerge well from life’s difficulties differ from those who do not based on their commitment to regularly practice resilience-oriented behaviors.
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