Building Resilience to Cope with Stress and Change - Page 2 of 5

Characteristics of Resilient People

If you are going to build and nurture resilience, it is helpful to know about the characteristics and qualities of "resilient" people. One way to recognize these characteristics is to contrast them with characteristics of "vulnerability."

We demonstrate vulnerability when we interpret our circumstances as stressful but have few sources of support or inadequate coping skills. In a potentially stressful situation, a resilient person can find and use resources to make the situation an opportunity, increasing coping skills in the process. Many of the great heroes and heroines throughout history were ordinary people who, when faced with a daunting challenge, drew upon the amazing reserves of resilience that are available to all of us.

Frederic Flach, a psychiatrist who has studied and written extensively about resilience, highlighted the following attributes of resilient people:

• Resilient people have a strong, supple sense of self-esteem.
• Resilient people are independent of thought and action. They have no fear of relying on others or reluctance to do so.
• Resilient people have the ability to give and take in their interactions with others.
• Resilient people have a well-established network of personal friends, including one or more who serve as confidants.
• Resilient people have a high level of personal discipline and a sense of responsibility.
• Resilient people recognize and develop their special gifts and talents.
• Resilient people are open-minded and receptive to new ideas.
• Resilient people have a willingness to dream.
• Resilient people have a wide range of interests.
• Resilient people have a keen sense of humor.
• Resilient people have insight into their own feelings and those of others.
• Resilient people have the ability to communicate feelings in an appropriate manner.
• Resilient people have a high tolerance of distress.
• Resilient people have focus.
• Resilient people have a commitment to life.
• And most importantly, resilient people have a philosophical framework within which personal experiences can be interpreted with meaning and hope, even at life's seemingly most hopeless moments.