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So much has been written about building personal resilience and it seems that it is one of the hottest topics in businesses and organizations as they look to support their people and look after their well being.

Could it be, that in a world of instant gratification, where we are led to believe that there is always a way, that we have built up a reliance on others to come up with solutions?  Could our desire for inclusion, our worry that a child should not experience rejection on the sports field, that ‘taking part is more important than winning’ result in us losing the ability to cope with difficulty and belief in ourselves to overcome adversity?

Human beings are enduring creatures, we have spent thousands of years dealing with challenges, overcoming what the natural world has thrown at us, yet we seem to struggle with the man-made challenges of modern life. Expectation, falsely-created needs and a desire for an easy life.

Life just isn’t like that, there are real challenges and threats, not the sabre tooth tiger that wants to hunt us and eat us, or (for many of us) the need to find food and water daily in order to survive.  No…modern challenges, like adapting to rapidly-changing technology, coping with change, dealing with global competition, remaining relevant in the workplace, managing others’ expectations and self-expectations.

So just how much control do we have in our lives?  The answer is a lot, but only if we take charge, choose a positive outlook, cultivate the motivation and determination to see things through.

Every four years, we see athletes from around the globe come together to compete, to win and for more to go away empty-handed. The common themes are stories of clear goals, dedication and sacrifice on the way to success and for those who were unable to claim a medal, defiance in defeat, a commitment to work harder, to find new ways to train, to up skill, bank the experience and return stronger. This is resilience in action.

We have worked hard over the last few months to bring to you a set of Building Personal Resilience Coaching Cards, a grouped resource that can be used by individuals, organizations and teams to understand what makes up resilience.  There are challenges and questions to self-coach and develop those skills, thinking and mind-sets needed in order to be successful.

Thomas Edison made 1000 experimental light bulbs, all of which failed before he succeeded on his 1001^st attempt.

Albert Einstein said ‘failure is success in progress’.