How resilient we are depends on our behaviours and habits. Strong foundational behaviours that support resilience are regular exercise, and good nutrition, because if you do both of these things then you’re less likely to rely on some of the other less healthy (but still perfectly valid) coping mechanisms.
Both exercise and nutrition support overall health, which is a critical factor in resilience, but which we often take for granted until we don’t have it. Often exercise and eating well are the first things to go when we have challenging times, so when we have too much on our plate, and too many of those plates spinning, we cancel our workout plans, and grab some food on the go, usually not the healthiest of options.
Exercise has been hailed as potentially being the silver bullet when it comes to resilience and I’m tempted to broadly agree with this. If you exercise regularly and it’s a habit you are in, then often it works as a preventative measure against the build up of stress and keeps your resilience topped up.
When we exercise we have more energy which also helps us deal with the challenges that come our way, and we are also more productive, and that helps us too. But one of the even more important benefits of exercise is that it gives us space for our brain to process whatever is going on and find those lightbulb moments, or even just take us away from the immediate problem and find the perspective that we need to realise that in the grand scheme of things it’s not a big deal. One of my friends used to say on bad days at work “nobody died and we still got paid” and whatever had gone on, that was still true and I think does help take away the importance that often builds up in workplaces against relatively inconsequential issues.
We know exercise releases endorphins that make us feel good, and we know that getting that blood pumping round our body helps us, so why do we find it so hard to do? I know that I enjoy exercise and feeling fit but find it hard to get and stay in the habit myself. We know it’s good for us, but that knowledge isn’t power unless we apply it consistently. Unfortunately we humans were built to conserve energy, so essentially we are lazy beings and prefer to take the easy option of lift over stairs every time. Conserving energy was useful in our past because we needed it for the occasions when we had to go Hunter Gathering to eat, but these days it’s much less useful as we have all the creature comforts and are more sedentary than ever before.
So how can you make exercise a habit that sticks, so your resilience levels stay topped up and your stress levels stay in control? The first thing is to do something that you enjoy. So maybe getting sweaty at a spinning class isn’t for you. It’s not for me either! But walking the dog is something I do enjoy doing. I’m not a fan of classes but I like a gentle swim in the sea.
Which brings me on to the second thing you can do and that’s to do something with others. I much prefer my sea swim when my friends are with me and we’re catching up on the goss and having a good giggle. In fact, those are some of my happiest times, and I always want to go. And the final thing that’s important when it comes to exercise, healthy eating, or good habits in general is that it’s better to set the bar really low and build up achievement momentum than set the bar high and give up because you feel like a failure. If you had one flat tyre you wouldn’t slash the other three would you?
So if you miss a workout don’t decide it’s not for you and stop, or try and make up for it and then it feels too hard. Just give yourself grace and permission to miss that one and keep going. Don’t undo all your good work because you’ve had one bad day or week.