Professional Resilience

Those who remember that what they do matters, use difficult times to develop their professional resistance. The circumstances yield to what matters more.

More Than A Job

Over the years, I’ve observed that people will continue in difficult situations because something matters more than the difficulties they experience. For instance, professionals put themselves into situations where there are significant pressures to perform. They don’t necessarily like those pressures, but there is something that matters more than the pressures they feel. They go home and come back the next day.

Of course, you can say that it’s the job, which is true. But shouldn’t the reason they come back day after day be more that “just part of the job?” There are a lot of ways to make a living. Surely one’s professional career is more than making money. So what is it that matters so much?

You have your own reasons that bring you back. Whatever they are, they matter enough to you that you return, day after day. In doing so, your resilience capacity increases, which allows you to push through when the going gets tough. This is called professional resilience.

Examples

At the onset of the Covid pandemic, educators were tasked to teach their students remotely. Neither they nor their students had a clue about how to do it. But they pressed on and found ways to do so because their reasons mattered more than their adversities. One education organization described this phenomenon this way:

“Professional resilience is our individual capacity to thrive in demanding situations. The choices we make when responding to difficult situations and our attitude and willingness to act, demonstrate resilience.”

A professional training organization described the difference between those who develop professional resilience and those who do not.

“When employees have reduced resilience in the workplace, presenteeism increases. This is when staff have lost their passion for their job, and they turn up to work absent minded.”

“More resilient employees don’t get disheartened and lose motivation when problems occur. In fact, they learn from the experiences and use them as opportunities to learn. They don’t lose motivation as a result of the challenges, and continue to be engaged within their roles.”

What You Do Matters

Every day, you have the opportunity to increase your professional resilience capacity. Just remember that your work matters. It matters to the recipients of your work and it matters to you, the producer of excellence.

So keep on developing your professional resilience.