What is resilience? Psychologically, resilience is your ability to adapt effectively to stress, difficulties, and lifeҳ inevitable challenges. Renita Kalhorn, an Executive Coach, offered advice for developing this kind of toughness in response to workplace challenges in her recent webinar, ӂuild Resilience to Achieve Excellence.ԠHow does resilience relate to control?Ӊtҳ actually about feeling a sense of control, because thereҳ no way you can actually be in control. So, fighter pilots often have lower levels of stress because they feel a sense of control, even in these very dangerous, threatening situations. What they do is they learn how to focus very closely on what they control and let go of everything else,Ԡsaid Renita.In response to challenges in her life, Renita has developed her own set of resilience skills in the face of adversity. Now, she trains everyone from Fortune 500 Executives to Navy Seals in her science-based, resilience-building tactics.ƁSTT Response for Managing Fight or FlightAs we evolved, our brains developed in a way that made us consistently make three mistakes. The first one is over-estimating threats, while the second and third involve under-estimating opportunities and resources.ҥnita developed a tactic that helps her clients understand why they might be unnerved by certain situations. Specifically, if we still have fight or flight responses to daily life or workplace stress, we can predict what might trigger us.ȥr FASTT model stands for the following:Future. Uncertainty in the future is unsettling.Ӕhereҳ the macro level that we talked about earlier: things like pandemics, economic uncertainty, climate change, social unrest, terrorist attacks. Then, thereҳ the personal level in terms of growing your business, developing your career, relationships with colleagues, your boss, your family, friends, strangers, and your health,Ԡsaid Renita.utonomy. Do I have the freedom to do what I think is best? Renita mentions that this trigger is often activated when individuals feel their work is being micromanaged. They may not even have the independence to complete tasks using their preferred methods.Ӵatus. What is my position in the group?רether we want to be or not, we are constantly trying to pick up clues about othersҠsocial positions. Renita suggests that this awareness is why itҳ so stressful to make mistakes.Ԩink back to when we lived in tribes. If we told the tribe, Hey, guys, I think thereҳ food over there, and instead, it was an enemy tribe, then what happened? So, my theory is that we just had to internalize that fear of being wrong to such a level, we still feel it now,ԠRenita suggested.ϴher threats to our status include not knowing the answer to questions. Thatҳ why so many people pretend to know the answer when they donҴ.Բibe. Do I have a sense of belonging with others? This trigger focuses on feeling that someone is part of the group.ӌots of triggers came out of the pandemic, as you can imagine. But just feeling outside of the group. Being excluded, misunderstood, abandoned even,ԠRenita said.Time. Do I have the time I need? Many of us have time pressures that prevent us from fully developing ourselves.רen weҲe in survival mode, weҲe not in a place of growth. If thereҳ no time, itҳ not a time to be creative, thatҳ not a time to be curious. Certainly, itҳ not a time to be vulnerable and admit that you are wrong, or donҴ know the answer,Ԡsaid Renita.Tips for Responding More Usefully to StressorsWhen most people are triggered, they have an innate impulse to either fight or flee. Instead, Renita suggests three steps that can diminish that reactionary attitude: first, neutralize the fight or flight response; next, zoom out; and finally, create a micro-shift.Բy one of these tactics to diminish your stress:²eathe deeply.YouҲe basically signaling your brain two to shift out of fight or flight,Ԡadds Renita.שggle your toes. The concentration required to wiggle your toes helps snap you out of fight or flight mode.ԡp into the power of your heart. ӂasically, science says that we are emitting electromagnetic signals all the time...what I would do, I would literally put my hand on my heart, tap into that feeling, and remind myself how powerful the heart is. Then, I would see if I could shift even a little bit into a place of feeling compassion, feeling, and understanding. Or at least I could remind myself I didnҴ know what their situation was,ԠRenita told us.òeate a micro-shift. ӗhatҳ one tiny thing that you can do differently at this moment?ԠRenita asked.Some tactics may include:Сusing.Changing your physical position by sitting up or standing up.ͥditating.סshing your face with cold water.̯oking out the window.Small Steps Build ResiliencePerhaps the most satisfying element of Renitaҳ method is that building resilience isnҴ about making major life changes. Rather, it focuses on taking small steps to disrupt fight or flight response. If we can add these tactics to our lives in times of stress, we can feel in control of ourselves even if we canҴ control the triggering situations around us.