In times when almost all the countries in the world are struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, the most natural feelings we, humans, experience are fear, anxiety or insecurity. At moments of threat, from the most ancient times, our sympathetic nervous system is activated, which invokes our instinct of "fight or flight."

Unfortunately, if we are in “fight or flight” mode for a long period, the stress increases tremendously, and it is extremely hard to cope with it. The bad news is that stress can harm our health.

That is why it is really important to control our mind and carefully choose our thoughts. This can help us stay resilient in times of adversity.

Why is resilience so important?

Here is the definition of resilience formulated by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, USA: "Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity. But resilience is also the ability to grow from challenges”. 

The main groups of factors that predetermine and sustain our resilience, according to Assoc. Prof. Karen Reivich, are:

1. Biology: the spread of the human race and our genetic predisposition;
2. Self-awareness: what is the exact degree of our mindfulness;
3. Self-regulation: how and to what extent we can successfully manage our feelings and actions;
4. Mind agility: the ability to reflect on a situation from different perspectives;
5. Optimism: the ability to believe in the positive outcomes in any situation;
6. Mastery or self-efficacy: our ability to get out of the position: "I can do it";
7. Connection: the availability of at least one very strong connection with another human being that we have established, and the fact that we can rely on this person’s support anytime;
8. Positive institutions: support we get from family, government, the organization we work for.

What distinguishes sustainable people from everyone else is that they find it difficult not to pay, but rather as proposals. They have a reasonable setting for a plant, not a fixed one, and a tip that from anything can look and grow. These people accept the information presented and overcome it, instead of being supported or intimidated by it.

Something that resilient people do really well, is to think about stressors, not as threats, but rather as challenges. So when there is a problem in front of them, they are guided by their growth mindset (the opposite of fixed mindset), believing that they can overcome any challenge. They would rather lean in to it, than to withdraw.

To help you cope better in times of adversity, we have created Happiness Accelerator’s 30-Day Resilience and Optimism Program.

Congratulations to all the Happiness Accelerator app users, who have gone through the program this April 2020.

For those who missed it, you can check the resources available on our the YouTube channel  and see all 30 daily tasks here.

Feel free to share this information. All the resources are free of charge for everyone.