Our spiritual resilience is the ability to maintain a positive spirit even in the face of adversity. We all have our own sets of beliefs, principles or values which are the platform of spiritual resilience. Spiritual resilience is not about religion, it’s about how you find meaning in life; what keeps you grounded and where you find purpose. reliance on spirituality also provides consolation and comfort throughout life and hopes for recovery during times of illness. Be thankful for what you do have. Build optimism and be positive. Accept the past and focus on the future.
What influences our spiritual resilience?
Connection
Having someone you look up to helps draw your strengths and desires out. Social support is important when it comes to resilience, those with a strong social support network have the ability to bounce back from challenges.
Face your fears
Learning to face our fears is powerful and essential for resilience. The more we try to overcome our concerns shows strength and courage. The more practice we get at overcoming our fears. As we overcome our fears our resilience grows more robust and we are better prepared for future challenges.
Find your sense of purpose
Purpose is defined as a commitment to make a meaningful contribution to the world, which gives direction to life and is beneficial to your overall well-being. You define your purpose. it’s what you choose to do that gives you something to hold onto in times of pain, doubt and tiredness. As you gain knowledge and experience, you can share what you have learnt from your experiences. Your purpose could be to make a little contribution to life by just being you! Having a purpose also enables you to adapt to situations positively, learn and grow from experiences, and keep going toward your goals. Those who feel they have a specific purpose in life are more likely to recover from painful situations. Believing you have a purpose means you’re less likely to give up when faced with tragedy or loss.
How to practice spiritual resilience
Create your sense of belonging
Know your values so you can meet other people who are like-minded and can help you find your purpose. Explore your community in your neighbourhood, online, in support groups and in faith communities to find where you feel you belong. Finding belonging in a community doesn’t mean you all agree with everything but accept each other for who you are. A sense of belonging can be your habitual pattern of thought. Think about when and where you feel most comfortable.
Know your strengths
Strengths are defined as character traits or skills that are considered positive. Strengths include knowledge, attributes, skills, and talents such as social competence, problem-solving, autonomy and a sense of purpose. Therefore to teach others to develop their strengths. This helps to take attention away from the failures and create new energy to move forward
Finding joy in the simple things
A ‘simple thing’ could be that you wake up and smile because you’re alive! smiling helps your brain release endorphins (the happy chemicals) making your body feel relaxed, happy and stress-free. When you wake up, before getting out of bed, ask yourself, what is something you’re excited about for the day? This question makes you feel appreciative of what you have and put a smile on your face right away. Live in the moment. Love it! Focussing on the present improves anxiety. Living in the moment means to stop dwelling on the past and expectations of tomorrow. Work on improving your current situation. By putting all of your focus on enjoying everything you do while you do it, you will be much happier and more satisfied with the life you are living.
Find the rhythm of deliberate practice and compassionate release
Deliberate practice involves putting sustained effort into improving your performance. Such as trying to improve your performance in a specific area. For example, improving your faith journey by going to church. Compassionate release means having the ability to maintain our physical, emotional, and mental well-being while responding compassionately to people who are suffering.
