“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.

Is your stress-o-meter already climbing before you’ve even opened your eyes in the morning? From arranging carpools to dealing with pressures on the job to coping with travel delays and technological glitches—along with rapidly changing local and global issues—our stress levels can ratchet up pretty quickly. Add to these daily stressors the more profound stresses of losing a loved one, losing a job, or being diagnosed with an illness, and we can all easily lose our footing if we’re not careful.

Enter: Resilience!

Resilience is the ability to adapt to challenges and bounce back from difficult situations. It comes in many forms. Resilience can range from physical strength and stamina to mental and emotional coping skills to a group or community’s ability to recover from a tremendous stressor.

In times of stress, resilience can also save the day by helping us handle unexpected circumstances. No matter what obstacles or strife we may confront in life, resilience is one of the best things around to help anyone overcome and push ahead.

How Do We Cultivate Resilience?

According to Dr. Amit Sood, the executive director of the Global Center for Resiliency and Well-Being, resilience is nourished by community support, self-confidence, strong communication skills, flexibility, perseverance, compassion, acceptance, and forgiveness.

Recent research indicates that resilience can also be strengthened via writing. In a 5-week study conducted at Macquarie University, researchers reviewed the beneficial effects of journaling, asking a group of 254 volunteers to write for 15 just minutes once a week about situations they had experienced in the previous week.

One-third of the group reflected in their writing on instances of unsuccessful coping, another third wrote about instances of successful coping, and the third group wrote descriptions of recent challenging events. At the end of the trial, the study’s authors found that reflective writing was more beneficial for building resilience than descriptive writing and that those who reflected on how they had successfully coped with challenges had the most measurable benefits, which were sustained for 6 months after the study.

If you’d like to give this a try, set a timer for fifteen minutes, and then put your pen to the page—or your fingers to the keyboard—as you reflect upon a challenging situation you encountered recently and at least one way that you coped successfully. Repeat this process once a week (or more) for five weeks, and see how you feel!

The Power of Resilience

If you hear a little voice inside your head asking what the big deal about resilience is, consider this: those who lack resilience are much more likely to feel overwhelmed or helpless, especially in the face of adversity. These individuals are also more likely to self-medicate, isolate, avoid, or use other unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Additionally, research shows that those with higher levels of resilience tend to have better overall well-being. Resilient people encounter stresses just like anybody else but are adept at tapping into both their personal strengths and community support.

Slow-grow your resilience, allowing it to root deeply, by cultivating appreciation for your positive qualities, talents, and skills. For a quick sample of how the practices of journaling and contemplation can support this process, reflect upon and/or jot down some thoughts about a time when you experienced a setback, along with something positive you did to move forward.

Tips for Boosting Resilience

While resilience is not something we can hold in our hands, it’s something we can definitely feel—and can work to cultivate on an ongoing basis. Here are some things you can do to help your resilience flourish:

• Practice Self-Care. Self-care is when you say “yes” to yourself—“yes,” you matter, “yes,” you’re worth taking time for, and “yes,” it’s okay to spend time doing something you enjoy. Self-care can take a variety of forms, from exercising to spending time outdoors to taking up a practice like meditation, journaling, yoga, or anything else that brings a profound sense of peace and renewal. Building in time for self-care on a regular basis (ideally, daily!) can strengthen your overall well-being, supporting an inner reservoir of resilience that you can tap into when needed.

• Build Social Connections. In times of distress, having a friend you can vent to can make all the difference. A friend can also offer compassion and advice, as well as take your mind off of your troubles. Making friends as an adult can be more challenging than in earlier years, but plenty of opportunities exist, from online chat groups and virtual gaming to sports teams, music ensembles, and community service organizations. Follow your passions to tap into related groups—either online or in-person—and you’ll be surprised to see how naturally connections can form when you’re amongst others who share your interests.

• Practice Self-Compassion. Giving yourself the gift of acceptance during a crisis can turn a time of suffering into a time for recovery and renewal. Adding unconditional love to the mix can help you begin to heal so that you return stronger than ever before. Self-compassion means being present for yourself by treating yourself as kindly as you’d treat a dear friend, foregoing criticism, and offering a safe place to land. If you’re not sure how to start, begin simply by saying to yourself something like, “I see you. I understand how hard this is for you. You’re okay. You’re doing the best that you can, and you’re going to get through this.” Follow this up by reaching your arms out wide and giving yourself a big hug.

• Use Affirmations. Affirmations are sentences or short phrases that you can repeat silently or aloud—or even write over and over—to redirect your thoughts in a positive direction. For instance, if you tend to worry, you might use an affirmation like “I choose to picture a positive outcome” or “I trust that all will work out well” to soothe your mind. You can also use affirmations to build your self-confidence by reminding yourself of your positive attributes. For example, you might choose an affirmation of “I am strong and creative, and I adapt to new situations well” or “I am generous, thoughtful, optimistic, and hard-working, and I can find ways to respond positively to life’s challenges.” If you prefer, your affirmation can be as simple as a single word like “peace,” “faith,” or “love.” By repeating your chosen affirmation, you build internal strength and harmony. You can think of affirmations as resilience tools that you can carry with you easily wherever you go.

• Embrace Gratitude. Appreciating the goodness in life can be hard to do when it feels like your world is collapsing. However, practicing gratitude regularly can make it possible to find something to appreciate even under the worst of circumstances. Gratitude, as many studies have shown, has an incredible ability to boost our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. With its focus on the bright side of life, gratitude can help to buffer stress and make you a more resilient person. For instance, instead of seeing a glass half-empty, you begin to see it as half-full. Practicing gratitude doesn’t have to be anything complicated. In fact, you can try it out right now: just close your eyes for a minute or two and bring to mind five things you’re thankful for. Yes, it’s that simple!

Resilience, while hard to measure, is so valuable that it can actually become more of a defining factor than achievements and awards. That’s why it’s so important to cultivate resilience with a combination of intention and dedicated practice. That way, when the next rough patch in your journey of life appears, you have a rich reservoir of resilience to tap into. As Nelson Mandela, the first president of South Africa, said, “Do not judge me by my success; judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”