These Three Small Habits Will Help You Build Emotional Resilience
Why You Should Make Emotional Resilience a Focus
After I turned 42, I wanted to build emotional resilience because life will keep happening, and I want to be prepared. You can acquire emotional resilience and make it a part of your daily practice and discipline in a number of ways.
Emotional resilience means that you can manage daily stressors or crises and can bounce back without becoming overwhelmed. Daily stressors can include cancelled plans, family drama, struggles in your profession, or various issues at work and at home.
I want to emphasize that emotional resilience isn’t about not feeling or responding to emotions — it’s about how you respond to life events.
Choosing not to throw a fit when inconveniences occur and having the capacity to look at situations from every angle means you are in control of your emotions. Crying and getting upset are normal parts of the process when done appropriately.
Emotionally resilient individuals don’t react to uncomfortable encounters or situations that have gone awry. They don’t behave violently or resort to physical aggression to get a message across.
I’ve witnessed people in public overreact and become borderline dangerous to be around when something happened that wasn’t on their agenda.
Lowering your expectations for all people and situations will eliminate the shock factor after something falls apart.
The holidays, for example, are right around the corner. I have zero expectations for how Thanksgiving and Christmas will pan out.
By that, I mean, I don’t expect anything from anybody in my family which means I am also prepared for the usual. I am the youngest of six siblings but I know that being an adult doesn’t change a darn thing when it comes to goofy sibling antics.
In addition to expectations, as someone who is notoriously inconvenienced by my health and other nonsense, I’ve come to learn that staying in tune with my emotions and not reacting wildly makes everything much better.
You don’t want to say or do something you’ll regret, and that can have a lasting negative impact on your life and overall well-being. Very rarely, if at all, do people think about the consequences of their words and actions.
Building emotional resilience takes time and requires implementing daily habits to get there. These are the daily habits I focus on that prevent me from getting overwhelmed:
Journaling
Journaling has improved my ability to assess situations and things happening inside and outside my environment. Journaling can make you more emotionally resilient over time because writing helps you process your emeotions.
Writing daily, even for five minutes, can keep you even-keeled when life throws curveballs. And, believe me, life will throw curveballs.
Getting overwhelmed is almost easy for me because I always have so much going on with my health and other random stuff. Now, when health stuff pops up, I am reminded that my genetic disorder is responsible for it and not something that should surprise me.
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When I receive bad news, I take a break to process it and breathe, which leads to my next one.
Meditative Breathing-Five Deep Breaths
When something happens that may trigger a reaction, try deep, diaphragmatic, and meditative breathing. Inhale and count to five, hold and count to seven, exhale, and count to eight. Follow this breathing method for those times when you feel overwhelm creeping in.
Nothing and nobody is worth your time, attention, or reaction, and that rewires my thoughts almost immediately.
When my siblings pick on me or try to embarrass me in public, I don’t react or respond. Most of the time, I say nothing and walk away. If someone is trying to push your buttons, ask them what they are after. Put them on the spot and make them think about what they’re saying or doing.
Devote Time To An Activity That Quiets Your Mind
Devoting time to an activity that quiets your mind will help you build emotional resilience. Check out my last blog post about the brain-boosting hobbies you should consider pursuing.
With the holidays fast approaching, I am forcing myself to devote at least two hours a day to a creative hobby that silences my mind.
Being creative is my way of keeping my emotional health strong and in good shape. I’ll spend hours drawing or painting, even after life has thrown a curveball. Overthinking and obsessing over situations only feeds stress and drama and doesn’t solve anything.
Sometimes, I don’t want to deal with things right away. Of course, I don’t always have that option, so if I can’t escape for a bit, then I’ll take a few breaths before speaking.
Concluding Thoughts
Emotional resilience is about strengthening your emotional responses to life events and not getting so overwhelmed that you can’t function.
If you are feeling overwhelmed or like things are piling up, take everything in small doses and steps.
Journaling, meditative breathing, and focusing on a hobby during the day are ways you can practice building emotional resilience.
The next time you’re in a situation where someone is trying to push your buttons, don’t react or respond right away. Instead, breathe and remember that overreacting is far more damaging than simply walking away.
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