Now, society as a whole is about to take a new step towards the "new normal."
However, each workers is still in a state of confusion. Teleworking suddenly began after the state of emergency was declared, and although there is a gradual movement back to the office, the situation remains fluid. Especially in an environment where remote communication has increased dramatically, many people seem to be confused about "management," where interpersonal relationships play a major role.
We often hear people expressing problems such as, "I want to talk to my boss about something, but it's become difficult to talk to him," or, "I want to check on my subordinates' progress, but it feels like I'm watching them."
Humans tend to feel anxious about things they have never experienced before. In light of this, the word "resilience" is currently attracting attention. Literally translated, it means "elasticity" or "ability to recover," but in psychology it is used to mean "the ability to maintain the same state as usual even in unfavorable situations."
In other words, a "highly resilient person" is someone who "remains true to themselves and stays the same even when times are tough."
From this time on, I would like to delve a little deeper into this concept of "resilience."
I would be delighted if you could experience this power, which is needed now more than ever.
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Text by Editorial Department Chie Aikawa
A flexible willow tree is hard to break. The same goes for the mind.
When talking about mental states, the term "stress tolerance" has long been common. However, stress tolerance has a stronger nuance of "durability" or "strength." It may be easier to understand if you think of it as something that indicates the degree to which you can endure.
"Resilience" is the ability to respond flexibly, rather than confronting something with so-called stubbornness. It's the ability to recover from damage received and adapt to the external environment.
Having a "flexible" mind is more important than you might think. This is because when you can only see what is in front of you, or when you get happy or sad about things, your mind becomes "easily broken." When you are in a difficult situation, it is difficult to recover from the emotional damage if you keep focusing on that. At times like these, just changing the framework of your thinking a little, that is, shifting your perspective to something like "It's raining, but this is good for reading a book," can change the shape of your mind.
As you know, a flexible willow tree is not easily broken even when blown by the wind. The same is true of the "mind."
So how do we increase resilience?
When you feel anxious or distressed, or when you feel like you've hit a wall.
What should we pay attention to in order to increase our "resilience"?
First, pay attention to the following three things:
◆Looking at your own experiences
What you've done so far and what you've achieved
Focus on what you have overcome,
Try to turn it into courage and tell yourself, "I'm sure everything will be okay this time too."
◆ Have self-esteem and respect others at the same time
Cherish your success stories and believe in yourself.
At the same time, trust and respect the people around you.
(In psychology, this is called the "I'm OK. You're OK" state.)
◆Think flexibly
Have a broad perspective and try to change your way of thinking when you find yourself in a pinch.
Rather than saying "This is all I have," say "There's so much here."
Have a positive outlook.
Become aware of negative assumptions known as "cognitive distortions."
Rather than being a matter of innate strength, it's a power that can be acquired through gradual training... don't you think?
Even if you just keep it in the back of your mind, something might change.
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In the next issue, we will be interviewing experts on resilience.
We would like to hear more about the differences between people who can adapt flexibly to new ways of working and those who cannot, the reasons why people fall into negative thinking, tips for increasing resilience, and the thinking of managers who can make good use of the diversity of their employees.
This is a must-see for the new normal. Please look forward to it!
