We want to thank Anthony Faiano from Victory Mindset for providing these great tools to remaining resilient during this uncertain time.

Resilience is the ability to remain productive, adapt to change, and thrive during times of uncertainty, stress, and instability. As we respond to the changes happening around us, it is essential that we remember our need to care for ourselves in order to care for those around us. Taking the steps to manage stress and fatigue will keep your immune system and cognitive function at an optimal level.

Here are a few reminders of the things we can do to remain resilient:

1. Maintain your physical routine

• Physical activity lowers stress and replaces stress chemicals with mood enhancing and pain relieving chemicals in your body
• Often times, physical activity can be used as a way to get your focus into the present moment so and help you judge the situation more objectively and with less emotion (fear, anxiety, or panic)
• Physical activity will keep your immune system function optimal
• Improves sleep and makes you more resilient to stress in general

2. Pay Attention to What You’re Eating

• During periods of high stress and uncertainty we tend to neglect our need for foods high in nutrients.
• Be conscious of whether you are hungry or stress eating
• Maintain healthy eating habits and refrain from late snacking
• Late eating can impact the quality of sleep you need during stressful times
• Energy drinks are not a sustainable substitute for quality sleep

3. Practice Gratitude

• A gratitude practice counteracts our inherent negativity bias. We naturally look for the bad as a protective measure.
• Gratitude will allow you to find what has gone right in any situation
• It will help you maintain a balanced perspective and keep you from becoming cynical.
• Having a consistent gratitude practice has been found to reduce stress

4. Reframe Your Thinking

• Reframing your thinking will help you deal with things as situations change
• It decreases stress due to maintaining control over your thoughts
• Reframing will help you have better reactions both emotionally and physically
• Controlling your thoughts will calm other people you interact with
• You will be at your most productive if you can reframe your thoughts to create a better environment around you

5. Use Mindfulness to Get Present

• Mindfulness in the moment helps you remain productive and focus on the present
• We cannot control the situation at home while we’re at work or at work while we’re home. If our attention wanders into these places we begin to experience more stress as a result of feeling less control.
• Use Mindfulness in the moment to take control of your focus in order to take purposeful and meaningful action on the task at hand
• Being able to make progress at what is important in the moment, while not trying to focus on everything in our lives in short bursts of attention will immediately reduce stress