Summary
- Planning for challenges builds resilience.
- Prepare by knowing your priorities, yourself and your resources.
- Respond by assessing, problem solving and taking action.
Resilience is about bouncing back after challenges. Some people handle challenges with ease. Others have lasting negative effects. Resilience may seem to be a natural trait, but it is really a set of skills that anyone can learn.
According to the American Psychological Association, to become more resilient, people should learn to:
- Be positive and confident about their strengths and abilities.
- Develop good communication and problem-solving skills.
- Make realistic plans with small, easy-to-follow steps.
- Avoid knee-jerk reactions based on strong feelings.
A multi-use action plan is a tool to help you learn these skills and feel ready to handle challenges.
Prepare
Priorities: Think about what you are bouncing back for
Think about what resilience means to you. What does bouncing back look and feel like? It is important to identify the most important parts of your life. Once you have done this, an action plan protects these priorities. They help you focus your efforts during challenging times.
Consider:
- What is most important to me? What do I value most?
- What people and relationships come first in my life?
- Which possessions mean the most to me?
Know yourself
Think about who you are and what you have. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Notice how much you know about your world. This will help you be confident when everything seems to be changing. Remember to stay positive. Studies have shown that experience with challenges, good or bad, prepares people to handle future challenges.
Consider:
- What challenges have I faced before?
- How did I handle them?
- Was I calm or emotional?
- How did I bounce back after that challenge?
- What did I do well?
- What could I do better?
Take stock of your assets
Understand what you have and what is available to you during hard times. This will help you make quick decisions in urgent situations. This can also help you use your time and resources well.
Consider:
- What is my financial situation? Where can I get money in an emergency?
- Whom can I depend on? Who has helped me in the past?
- Does my job, school, or organization offer helpful benefits?
- What professionals can offer me advice?
Plan
Assess the situation
When faced with a new challenge, your first job is to stay calm and find out what is going on. Gather the facts:
- What happened? What is the problem?
- What is the main concern?
- How urgent is this?
- Who is directly affected by this?
- What makes this situation harder?
Assess yourself
Before you take action, stop to see how you feel and what you think. Do not judge your emotions or act on them. Sometimes people pay more attention to their wants or fears than to the facts of the situation.
- Notice your feelings. Are your emotions positive or negative? Why? Can you think positively?
- Think about the facts. What do past experiences tell you about this situation? What do you know about the situation or the people involved? What insight do you have?
Problem solve
Once you understand the facts, how you feel, and what you know, you will be better able to make smart choices.
- Remember your priorities. Your goal is to make decisions that protect the important parts of your life. This will help you bounce back and adapt to changes.
- Identify specific problems. What needs to happen next? What can you do? What is out of your control?
- Connect your knowledge and resources to solve problems. What actions will make things better? What resources would help? Decide what you need and take action.
- Involve others. Do not try to handle it alone. Communicate with friends and family. Accept offers of help.
Next steps
Your action plan should see you through the beginning stages of your challenge. Now decide what comes next.
- Re-assess the situation. Is the challenge over, or will it continue?
- What are the effects of the challenge, so far?
- Did your decisions and actions protect your priorities?
- Think back to what bouncing back meant to you when you prepared this plan. Have you bounced back?
- If not, how can you continue to work on this challenge?
- What can you change, and what must you adapt to?
Summary
- Planning for challenges builds resilience.
- Prepare by knowing your priorities, yourself and your resources.
- Respond by assessing, problem solving and taking action.
Resilience is about bouncing back after challenges. Some people handle challenges with ease. Others have lasting negative effects. Resilience may seem to be a natural trait, but it is really a set of skills that anyone can learn.
According to the American Psychological Association, to become more resilient, people should learn to:
- Be positive and confident about their strengths and abilities.
- Develop good communication and problem-solving skills.
- Make realistic plans with small, easy-to-follow steps.
- Avoid knee-jerk reactions based on strong feelings.
A multi-use action plan is a tool to help you learn these skills and feel ready to handle challenges.
Prepare
Priorities: Think about what you are bouncing back for
Think about what resilience means to you. What does bouncing back look and feel like? It is important to identify the most important parts of your life. Once you have done this, an action plan protects these priorities. They help you focus your efforts during challenging times.
Consider:
- What is most important to me? What do I value most?
- What people and relationships come first in my life?
- Which possessions mean the most to me?
Know yourself
Think about who you are and what you have. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Notice how much you know about your world. This will help you be confident when everything seems to be changing. Remember to stay positive. Studies have shown that experience with challenges, good or bad, prepares people to handle future challenges.
Consider:
- What challenges have I faced before?
- How did I handle them?
- Was I calm or emotional?
- How did I bounce back after that challenge?
- What did I do well?
- What could I do better?
Take stock of your assets
Understand what you have and what is available to you during hard times. This will help you make quick decisions in urgent situations. This can also help you use your time and resources well.
Consider:
- What is my financial situation? Where can I get money in an emergency?
- Whom can I depend on? Who has helped me in the past?
- Does my job, school, or organization offer helpful benefits?
- What professionals can offer me advice?
Plan
Assess the situation
When faced with a new challenge, your first job is to stay calm and find out what is going on. Gather the facts:
- What happened? What is the problem?
- What is the main concern?
- How urgent is this?
- Who is directly affected by this?
- What makes this situation harder?
Assess yourself
Before you take action, stop to see how you feel and what you think. Do not judge your emotions or act on them. Sometimes people pay more attention to their wants or fears than to the facts of the situation.
- Notice your feelings. Are your emotions positive or negative? Why? Can you think positively?
- Think about the facts. What do past experiences tell you about this situation? What do you know about the situation or the people involved? What insight do you have?
Problem solve
Once you understand the facts, how you feel, and what you know, you will be better able to make smart choices.
- Remember your priorities. Your goal is to make decisions that protect the important parts of your life. This will help you bounce back and adapt to changes.
- Identify specific problems. What needs to happen next? What can you do? What is out of your control?
- Connect your knowledge and resources to solve problems. What actions will make things better? What resources would help? Decide what you need and take action.
- Involve others. Do not try to handle it alone. Communicate with friends and family. Accept offers of help.
Next steps
Your action plan should see you through the beginning stages of your challenge. Now decide what comes next.
- Re-assess the situation. Is the challenge over, or will it continue?
- What are the effects of the challenge, so far?
- Did your decisions and actions protect your priorities?
- Think back to what bouncing back meant to you when you prepared this plan. Have you bounced back?
- If not, how can you continue to work on this challenge?
- What can you change, and what must you adapt to?
Summary
- Planning for challenges builds resilience.
- Prepare by knowing your priorities, yourself and your resources.
- Respond by assessing, problem solving and taking action.
Resilience is about bouncing back after challenges. Some people handle challenges with ease. Others have lasting negative effects. Resilience may seem to be a natural trait, but it is really a set of skills that anyone can learn.
According to the American Psychological Association, to become more resilient, people should learn to:
- Be positive and confident about their strengths and abilities.
- Develop good communication and problem-solving skills.
- Make realistic plans with small, easy-to-follow steps.
- Avoid knee-jerk reactions based on strong feelings.
A multi-use action plan is a tool to help you learn these skills and feel ready to handle challenges.
Prepare
Priorities: Think about what you are bouncing back for
Think about what resilience means to you. What does bouncing back look and feel like? It is important to identify the most important parts of your life. Once you have done this, an action plan protects these priorities. They help you focus your efforts during challenging times.
Consider:
- What is most important to me? What do I value most?
- What people and relationships come first in my life?
- Which possessions mean the most to me?
Know yourself
Think about who you are and what you have. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Notice how much you know about your world. This will help you be confident when everything seems to be changing. Remember to stay positive. Studies have shown that experience with challenges, good or bad, prepares people to handle future challenges.
Consider:
- What challenges have I faced before?
- How did I handle them?
- Was I calm or emotional?
- How did I bounce back after that challenge?
- What did I do well?
- What could I do better?
Take stock of your assets
Understand what you have and what is available to you during hard times. This will help you make quick decisions in urgent situations. This can also help you use your time and resources well.
Consider:
- What is my financial situation? Where can I get money in an emergency?
- Whom can I depend on? Who has helped me in the past?
- Does my job, school, or organization offer helpful benefits?
- What professionals can offer me advice?
Plan
Assess the situation
When faced with a new challenge, your first job is to stay calm and find out what is going on. Gather the facts:
- What happened? What is the problem?
- What is the main concern?
- How urgent is this?
- Who is directly affected by this?
- What makes this situation harder?
Assess yourself
Before you take action, stop to see how you feel and what you think. Do not judge your emotions or act on them. Sometimes people pay more attention to their wants or fears than to the facts of the situation.
- Notice your feelings. Are your emotions positive or negative? Why? Can you think positively?
- Think about the facts. What do past experiences tell you about this situation? What do you know about the situation or the people involved? What insight do you have?
Problem solve
Once you understand the facts, how you feel, and what you know, you will be better able to make smart choices.
- Remember your priorities. Your goal is to make decisions that protect the important parts of your life. This will help you bounce back and adapt to changes.
- Identify specific problems. What needs to happen next? What can you do? What is out of your control?
- Connect your knowledge and resources to solve problems. What actions will make things better? What resources would help? Decide what you need and take action.
- Involve others. Do not try to handle it alone. Communicate with friends and family. Accept offers of help.
Next steps
Your action plan should see you through the beginning stages of your challenge. Now decide what comes next.
- Re-assess the situation. Is the challenge over, or will it continue?
- What are the effects of the challenge, so far?
- Did your decisions and actions protect your priorities?
- Think back to what bouncing back meant to you when you prepared this plan. Have you bounced back?
- If not, how can you continue to work on this challenge?
- What can you change, and what must you adapt to?