Our bodies and brains are naturally resilient – they are constantly working to achieve a state of equilibrium. However, this inherent resilience can get depleted when we are burnt out, meaning that our bandwidth is diminished and our bounce back ability is lowered. 

So, what can we do to strengthen our resilience when we are feeling burnt out? In her contribution to Harvard Business Review’s Emotional Intelligence Series on resilience, journalist Diane Coutu explains that only one behavior has been strongly linked to high resilience: asking for help. While it may seem counterintuitive, facing things on your own actually decreases your capacity for resilience. Instead, leaning on support systems goes much further in boosting your ability to bounce back.

Tune into this week’s #straightfromcait episode to learn more about the characteristics and behaviors that make you hardy in the face of stress. Learn about the three main characteristics of resilient people, the importance of leaning into your core values, and why taking improv classes just might make you more resilient!

 

Quotes

• “Your body and brain are naturally resilient. They constantly balance and rebalance themselves to maintain homeostasis, they adjust what needs adjusting, and you just continue about your day none the wiser….But sometimes, even naturally resilient things break down.” (01:16-01:32)

• “The truth is science doesn’t really know exactly what makes one person come to a difficult situation and move through it with relative ease and grace while another person struggles and breaks down.” (02:30-02:40)

• “[When it comes to resilience], there’s both a toughness and a softness, a leaning in for help and asking and an ability to move through.” (03:26-03:34)

• “This is one of the main reasons we burn out: because we’ve adopted the values of our cultures and families without stopping to ask if they really suit us.” (05:40-05:49)

• “The one behavior that is related to high resilience is asking for help….Standing alone because you think it makes you stronger weakens your resilience.” (07:53-08:30)

 

Links

https://store.hbr.org/books/hbr-emotional-intelligence-series/ 

https://caitdonovan.com/freebie-values 

bit.ly/bouncebackorder

 

XOXO,

C

 

If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait

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