On a recent podcast with Paul Banas, we discussed the impact that happiness has on resilience. As with all good conversations, this one had me considering the topic more deeply even after the discussion ended.
Perhaps a good place to start is to ask what resilience means. In psychology, resilience refers to our ability to adapt and persevere when confronted with challenges or adversity. This can apply to a range of stressful experiences from trauma or tragedy to health, relationships or work problems. Unfortunately, many think resilience means putting on a strong outward appearance even if you feel terrible. For me, resilience is the ability to navigate and process how we feel in a way that gives us the strength to face life's challenges.
Being authentically happy means that your default state is one that generates feelings such as joy, satisfaction or appreciation. No matter what is happening around us we can navigate our way back to our desired state of being without needing the external world to change. In other words, we are not reliant on external conditions to be happy.
Resilience is similar to authentic happiness in that we remain determined and committed regardless of the challenges that we face This is where I see a connection between happiness and resilience. If we are authentically happy we may not feel positive and optimistic in every moment but even in the face of challenge, we can find our way back to a positive outlook.
As I often point out, happiness is the emotional feedback we get related to our choices, actions, or the way we perceive the world. Our mindset, our beliefs and our habitual way of thinking all play a role in both our happiness and our resilience. In fact, the resilience of your state of happiness helps indicate how authentically happy you are.
Check out my interview with Paul Banas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA04xdrYVps
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