Becoming more Resilient: Part 2

Welcome to this episode of Leading The Coaching Change Podcast. I am Nadine Powrie, Executive and Leadership Coach.

So today for the second podcast, I'm going to build on a topic that I touched on last week episode when I talk about goals. So I really hope that you listened to my episode last week because I gave you a few strategies to achieve your goals for 2019. And last week I asked you this question, what are the obstacles that might be in the way, like the barriers that could make it difficult for you to achieve your goals, because it's really important to think about those in advance so that we can put in place some strategies so that those obstacles that do not appear as big as they are. Fact is there are always going to be difficulties when we have a plan, even with the best planning in the world, because adversity is a fact of life. So what's going to make you successful is your resilience. Yes, your resilience, it's it's that quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back at least the strongest before. And those people find a way to rise when I believe very strongly that each of us can become one of those people. And we can all find a way to rise. So let's see how

Some psychologists have identified some of the factors that make a person more resilient. I find it fascinating that some people are more resilient than others. And I always ask myself, what makes them more resilient. And what we have noticed is that those people have a positive attitude, there are optimistic, they have the ability to regulate emotions and they have the ability to see failure as a form of helpful, helpful feedback. So to become more resilient, I think you need to hack into your happy chemicals. So the Dopamine, the Serotonin, the Endorphins and Oxytocin are the quartet responsible for your happiness. And remember, if you are happy, you are going to be more resilient. Let's explore each of them. And let's see how you can develop some new habits within each of those quartet.

So, to make your Dopamine flow, think about breaking the big goals that you have set into smaller ones, so chunk them and create a serie of smaller rewards, smaller success. And that in itself, will increase the motivation and productivity why, because your goals are smaller, you are going to be able to achieve them quicker. And that is what matters.

The second one is the Serotonin and the Serotonin is about taking a few moments every day to reflect on your past achievement of your past success. So you could even make a list, a visual to actually see those and I know that some of my clients have put those on their screensaver on their computer, or others have done at least and they look at least every day I've even got a client who every night before going to bed is looking at a gratitude journal that she she has. And so in doing that, she's feeling a lot more positive about what she has achieved so far. Practising gratitude can help you and can remind you that you are valued as well. And one more thing as well is that daily sun exposure, is really healthy for boosting your Serotonin level. Now, you might laugh about that, but it's actually true that seeing the sun will, will help you so try to go out every day for 20 minutes and try to make sure that you are exposed to the sunlight and not stuck in front of a computer or in a room without, without understand that's really important.

We are now going to be looking at the Oxytocin. And Oxytocin is it's a kind of the cuddle hormone, as they call it.

And this one flows by being more tactile. So for example, instead, instead of shaking hands, give a hug. And I've read somewhere that it is recommended that we give eight hugs per day. Now, you might say that I've come and become totally crazy. But you know, in France, when we, when we know people, we give them a kiss. So why not start by perhaps, you know, instead of shaking hands, give a hug to people. And the other thing you could do as well here is give someone a gift, because that's also a way to cause Oxytocyn to seen to rise. So have a list of birthdays or anniversaries or any celebrations ready and make sure that you are celebrating them as often as you can.

And then the last one that I want to explore with you is the Endorphin. Make your Endorphin flows by exercising. So do a physical activity every day. And it can be power walking, it can be good to the gym. It can be doing yoga or meditation to some extent, but it is really important that you do some exercise every day because your heart needs to be beating faster. You need to be laughing as well. Now you're going to think again, what's wrong with Nadine today but you could make a point to attend more comedy shows, maybe you want to watch more things on the TV, read more humour books on humour to make your laugh.

And another thing that was interesting here that I've researched actually, because one of my clients was interested in aromatherapy. There are some sent like vanilla or lavender, which have been linked with the production of Endorphins. So you might want to burn some vanilla and lavender whenever you are because that will get your Endorphins flowing. And equally if we're looking about and if we are thinking about food, eating dark chocolate or spicy foods will also cause your brains to release Endorphins. So you've got some tricks here. Now you can learn to change your response to adversity by building resilience. Absolutely!

I hope that the suggestions that I've made will help you because when it comes to adversity, and when it comes to being resilient, flexibility is key. It is absolutely key because you're discovering ways to adapt to the changes that life throws at you by making you more able to cope so you're going to modify your in a tweak some of your behaviors and that requires flexibility which you can have.

So what simple actions can you take to start increasing your resilience I'd love to hear from you and how the strategies that have suggested are working with number I'm here to help you you can visit my website nadinepowrie.com if you want to explore how I can support you.

I hope you're having a fabulous week and I will see you next week.