Many authors have contributed to resilience research and have identified what are considered to be the protective factors. The protective factors are behaviors that lead to enhanced effectiveness in dealing with adversity.
Social/Family Connections/Collaboration
Meaningfulness/Purpose/Grit/Endurance
Angela Duckworth in “Grit” defines grit as the combination of passion and perseverance. She adds that there are four aspects to grit; interest, practice, purpose, hope. Interest refers to enjoying what you are doing. She conceptualizes practice in a deliberate practice framework which encourages continual development in skills and behaviors. Unlike the discussion above, Duckworth believes that passion is best defined as a belief that your work matters and has an impact on the lives of others. Finally, hope includes a growth mindset which allows for overcoming challenges and increasing capacity for achievement.
Positive Perspectives in Life/Happiness
Shawn Achor in “Before Happiness” recommends training our brains to attach more positives to any given situation or event encountered. Our brains are programmed to identify negatives as an early survival mode. Being vigilant about describe or make meaning about an event is crucial to changing from a negative to positive mindset. For most clients this means tracking daily the events and what is being said about them. Remembering that we have the power to change our experience based upon the narrative and our reaction to events, can help clients adapt to perceived or real adversity.
Previous Experience with Hardship/Adversity
Rick Hanson in “Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength and Happiness”, shares that changes in resilient experiences occur at a brain level and involve two processes-activation and installation. As individuals experience sustained and repeated success with adverse events, the brain makes changes in neural pathways. This process is an opportunity for coaching as Hanson believes that a process for deliberately internalizing the successes is rarely taught.
Subjective Well-being/Self Care
The focus on subjective well-being/self care is on how individuals fuel their bodies from four perspectives; physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Borrowing from Jim Loehr in “The Power of Full Engagement”, engagement is a state that is acquired-requiring practice-and is the “ability to invest your full and best energy right here-right now” in what matters most. Loehr shares that we fuel our bodies physically by investing good nutrition, exercise and recovery, and quality. Investment in the emotional dimension suggests we choose opportunity over fear emotional states. We invest mentally when our stories align with what matters most taking us into the best versions of ourselves. Finally, spiritual investment occurs when we identify our purpose and passions and remain focused on what matters most.
Independence/Self-Determination
Self-determination theory is most frequently aligned with intrinsic motivation. The most common components of the theory include autonomy, competence and relatedness. Autonomy is directly related to choice and a feeling of being in control of behaviors connected to goals. Often this is referred to as locus of control. Competence refers to an individual’s mastery of skills and a willingness to take action towards success when he/she believes in his/her own capability. Relatedness speaks to a connectedness with other often referred to as a sense of belonging.
Self-acceptance/Authenticity
Post-traumatic growth/Learning from Adversity
in “The Art of Changing the Brain…” suggests that individuals engage in three processes to transform our experiences into learning. The first is to move from past to future as we begin to make plans based upon what was learned. Next, individuals integrate what has been learned internally by coming to a deeper understanding of the knowledge gained and it’s impact on the person. Finally, individuals recognize a locus of control over the information which can then be turned into action. For coaches, helping clients verbalize the adverse event into what was learned from the adversity begins the transformation of the learning.