Anxiety & Resilience
A bit of nervous energy before a big presentation is normal, and it’s common to worry about things like doing a good job at work or hitting a deadline. In fact, in these situations, your anxiety can provide you with a bit of a competitive advantage. But when it becomes unhelpful it can start to make work feel impossible.
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The ability to control our reactions to situations is something we all possess, and building resilience is a solid step toward towards being back in control of your responses.
The 4 kinds of workplace anxiety
Performance anxiety
A short-lived phenomena that tends to disappear after you’ve successfully completed the task causing stress (or even sometimes, in the middle of it when you start to build confidence).
General anxiety
An invisible companion that comes to work with you each day. You may not notice it getting out-of-control until it begins to affect your daily life or work performance.
Urgency stress
Quick decision making or crisis management stimulates a stress response in the body. This becomes problematic when it begins to accumulate and is not managed appropriately.
Imposter syndrome
An irrational belief that you don’t deserve the level of success you have. This often results in people feeling like 'a fraud', doubting their abilities and struggling to enjoy their successes.
How do you build resilience?
Resilience is best defined as the ability to recover and adapt quickly from a traumatic event or stressor.
In times of uncertainty, it is natural for people to seek out something stable to hold on to. Instead of trying to stop or manage change, or searching for someone to provide clarity and guidance, try looking inward. Developing your own resilience and leveraging your strengths leads to your ability to build your confidence to navigate no matter what change, transformation or uncertainty lies ahead.
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Pay attention to your inner dialogue.
Paying attention to the stories and self-talk we do in our heads can help us recognize when our resilience is stressed, or we need some maintenance. Make a point of noticing what you tell yourself to get an early warning that resilience is low.
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Reframe threats as challenges.
When we see something as a challenge, we recognize the possibility of growth and perceive that we have the resources to deal with that situation. That view results in feelings of energy, anticipation, and excitement. These feelings tend to mobilize people for action and problem-solving.
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Monitor your mindset.
Our beliefs, attitudes, and mindsets influence our resilience. An important mindset is the extent to which we believe we have control over the outcome of our lives, a construct known as the locus of control.
People who believe they control their own outcomes are better able to cope with them rather than feeling victimized. People with an internal locus of control are six times more likely to be resilient.
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