1. Five Practices to Enhance Your Resilience
Mary Steinhardt
The University of Texas at Austin

2. Transform our Resistance Grow our Resilient Self
What is Resilience?
The capacity to bounce back from stressful situations, adapt and succeed.
That ineffable quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever.
Transform our Resistance
Recognize emotion and get curious about our feelings, thinking, and behavior
Get honest about the stories we make up regarding our struggle and what needs to change
Based on key learnings, change how we engage with the world
Grow our Resilient Self

3. Resilience (recovery)
Stressful Situations
Thriving (growth)
“STEP UP”
FLOURISHING
Resilience (recovery)
“BOUNCE UP”
FOCUSED, FLEXIBLE, FLOWING
Homeostasis
(protective factors)
(sustainability)
Disruption
(overwhelmed)
Diminished (stuck in a rut)
“PUT UP”
FLOUNDERING
Succumb
“GIVE UP”
FAILURE
O’Leary & Ickovics 1995; Carver 1998

4. The Practice of Mindfulness (nonjudgmental awareness)
Five Practices to Enhance Resilience…
The Practice of Mindfulness (nonjudgmental awareness)
Stressful Situations
(stressor)
Resilience
FOCUSED, FLEXIBLE, FLOWING
Homeostasis
(Biopsychosocial protective factors)
(sustainability)

5. The Practice of Mindfulness (nonjudgmental awareness)
Sitting Meditation; Body Scan; Yoga
Loving-kindness Meditation
And consider a daily Loving-kindness Meditation, for example, each morning you could pick from any of the following and say to yourself as you begin your day:
May I be filled with loving-kindness.
May I be healthy.
May I feel calm.
May I be free from fear.
May I be safe.
May I trust myself.
May I have patience.
May I show myself the same kindness I show a loved one.
Or a Forgiveness Meditation, for example, you can say:
For any hurt I caused myself in this situation, or others, I offer myself forgiveness.
And I’ll suggest one of my favorite books “Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life” by Jon Kabat-Zinn
It’s an easy read full of suggestions to keep you in the present moment, with nonjudgmental awareness.
May I be filled with loving-kindness.
May I be healthy.
May I feel calm.
May I be safe.
May I have patience.
May I show myself the same kindness I show a loved one.
Forgiveness Meditation
For any hurt I have caused myself in this situation, or others, I offer myself forgiveness.

6. Working Life High Stress
Personal Life
Working Life
(stressor)
(consequence)
High expectations…….
Anxiety
Long hours
Exhausted, angry, resentful
Unreasonable
Faculty member…....
Mad, hurt
High Stress
No time to exercise………..
Stressed, resentful
Lack of sleep…....
Exhausted, lying awake at night
Lonely, hurt, overeat
Strained relationship………
Health
Friends/Family

7. Resilience (recovery)
Thriving (growth)
“STEP UP”
FLOURISHING
HOW WE COPE WITH STRESS
Adaptive Coping (problem-focused)
Action
Planning
Positive Reframing
Acceptance
Using Social Support
Resilience (recovery)
“BOUNCE UP”
FOCUSED, FLEXIBLE, FLOWING
Maladaptive Coping (emotion-focused)
Denial
Behavioral Disengagement
Self Distraction
Self Blame
Venting
Diminished
(stuck in a rut)
“PUT UP”
FLOUNDERING
Succumb
“GIVE UP”
FAILURE

8. Five Practices to Enhance Resilience…
1. The Practice of Mindfulness
2. Using Stress as an Opportunity to Grow

9. Five Practices to Enhance Resilience…
1. The Practice of Mindfulness
2. Using Stress as an Opportunity to Grow
Carver, C. S. (1998). Resilience and thriving: Issues, models, and linkages. Journal of social issues, 54(2),

10. Five Practices to Enhance Resilience…
The Practice of Mindfulness
The Practice of Using Stress to Grow
3. The Practice of Self-Leadership
An active and compassionate inner leader containing the perspective, confidence, and vision to lead your life harmoniously and sensitively.

11. The Practice of Self-Leadership
Calm
Clarity
Curiosity
Compassion
Confidence
Courage
Creativity
Connectedness
Contentment
Schwartz, R.C. (1995). Internal Family Systems Therapy. The Guilford Press (NY).

12. The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions
Five Practices to Enhance Resilience…
The Practice of Mindfulness
The Practice of Using Stress to Grow
The Practice of Self-Leadership
4. The Practice of Positivity(3 to 1)
The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions

13. FOCUSED, FLEXIBLE, FLOWING
Thriving (growth)
FLOURISHING
Stressful Situations
Resilience
(Strong Foundation)
FOCUSED, FLEXIBLE, FLOWING
Homeostasis
(protective factors)
POSITIVITY
Fuels Resilience and
Human Flourishing
Fredrickson, B. (2009). Positivity. Three Rivers Press (CA).

14. Five Practices to Enhance Resilience…
The Practice of Mindfulness
The Practice of Using Stress to Grow
The Practice of Self-Leadership
The Practice of Positivity
The Practice of Renewal
Production (results)
requires development of
Production Capability (resources).

15. Rising Strong process... Brene Brown: Living a wholehearted life...
We all want to show up and be seen in our lives.
We all struggle and fall.
We all know what it means to be brave and broken-hearted.
As Rumi says…
We’re all just walking each other home.
Rising Strong process...
The goal is to rise from our falls, overcome our mistakes, and face hurt in a way that brings more wisdom, more leadership, and more wholeheartedness into our lives.

16. The Reckoning: walking into our story
Recognizing emotion; getting curious about our feelings and how they connect to the way we think and behave.
The Rumble: owning our story
Get honest about the stories we’re making up about our struggle, then challenge these confabulations and assumptions to determine what’s truth, what’s self-protection, and what needs to change if we want to lead more wholehearted lives.
The Revolution: rising strong, growth
Writing a new ending to our story based on the key learnings from our rumble and use this new, braver story to change how we engage with the world and to ultimately transform the way we live, love, parent, and lead.