Yeah, sometimes life gets rough and tough and, we tumble and fall. So, I thought it was time that we started to chat about resilience. There’s no better place then at a convention that promotes some of the most creative and inspiring industries in the artistic scene. Why? Because artists need to understand resilience in a BIG way. We get hit with rejection, creative judgement and worst of all, our negative self-talk.
This panel was the third I have pitched to the OZ Comic-Con team. The first was on mental health. The second was on happiness. And finally, this one covering the topic of resilience.
We discussed a lot of things about resilience but first, we had to understand it.
What is resilience?
Is it the ability to recover quickly from difficulties?
Is it the ability of people or things to feel better quickly after something unpleasant such as a shock or injury?
Is it the ability to bounce back with a healthy outlook for the future?
If you answered yes to the above you would be correct.
Research has shown that resilience is ordinary, not extraordinary.
I bet that surprises some people because often we think we have to be trained into being resilient. But most people do commonly demonstrate resilience.
As creatives on this panel, we talked about how we battle with rejection because as any artist will tell you they have at some time in their career received a rejection of some kind. It might sound like this. “Thank you for submitting your project. Unfortunately this time you have been unsuccessful. We wish you all the best in finding a home for your project.” During the panel discussion, I said that I am used to rejection. Perhaps that wasn’t the correct words. I am “more comfortable” with receiving a rejection these days. After twelve years of receiving them, I think I am rather practised at feeling the disappointment and then moving on. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel hurt or disappointed. I just don’t dwell on the rejection. I move on.
Each of the panel members had their own words for finding their resilience on this topic. And each one had a valid, independent view and method for bouncing back.
Julian Barr said, “There is nothing wrong with feeling hurt or downhearted by rejection. Just don’t set up camp there.”
Kathryn Gossow has her own strategy. She spoke about building her self-awareness in whatever means you find comfortable. Learning to understand yourself and others can help to foster an optimistic outlook.
June Perkins spoke about finding joy in the art of creating to support your resilience.
Tash Turgoose’s positive outlook spoke about her focus on gratitude to support her resilience.
When I work with young people who find themselves experiencing some really challenging issues, I never view them as not functioning properly. If I did that, I would be arguing for their limitations, and I have never been one for focusing on someone’s weaknesses. I work with a strengths-based approach. Resilience plays a part in this kind of support. Helping them to understand that resilience is a normal part of life is essential to their ability to work through their presenting issues.
Below I have listed a few strategies for helping to support your resilience.
Make connections. Good relationships with family and friends and other types of social contact are fabulous for learning to accept help and support from those who care about you. Social groups, creative groups, community groups are also a fun way to help strengthen resilience.
Avoid seeing crises as overwhelming problems. You can’t always stop, avoid or change stressful events when they happen, but you can change how you interpret and respond to these events.
Move toward your goals. Developing realistic goals helps promote the probability that you will be more likely to achieve them. Do something consistently — even if it doesn’t require a huge time commitment or large level of energy but has the potential to be increased will support some level of goal accomplishment.
Look for opportunities for self-discovery. As you move through challenging issues, you have the chance to learn something about yourself and others. You might discover that you have grown emotionally as a result of your struggle. Knowledge is power!
Take care of yourself. Self-care is one of the most important things you will ever do for yourself. So, pay attention to what your body needs. If your body says, take a nap. Then you take a nap.
So until next time… “Be brave and bold in your chosen field of creativity. And never be afraid to explore new techniques”
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