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A few months ago I was interviewed on BBC 5 live about human resilience. I am very passionate about the topic and was asked to talk about the book I have written called Resilience - How to cope when everything around you keeps changing. I also had the opportunity to talk about my own personal journey of putting resilience to the test and having to deal with a rare heart tumour that required life saving (open heart) surgery a few years ago.My close friend Vince (who used to be a BBC journalist and is now a university lecturer) was also interviewed on the same show. Vince talked candidly about his experience of having been diagnosed at 19 with type one diabetes, and then suffering a stroke in his 40’s, which left him with an acquired brain injury. In December 2017 he contracted gangrene through a freak accident and spent the best part of the following year in and out of hospital having most of his foot amputated. After the show we discussed how we would love to produce a podcast series together, involving frank discussions about resilience and sharing tips and advice on positive recovery from setbacks. The following morning Vince texted me to say he was in hospital and had suffered a heart attack and as a result he will now be needing open-heart surgery too!As close friends we have been there and supported each other through various challenges and learnt a great deal about resilience. We have shared good times and bad times, tears and laughter, fear and hope, mental health challenges and even suicidal thoughts.As a result we have recorded this honest, open and light hearted series to share practical and accessible tips and tools that we hope will help and support others. We would love your feedback too!To create a structure and framework the  series follows the 10 guiding principles taken from my book on Resilience and we hope you will find our series useful, enlightening and entertaining!So what is resilience?Resilience is an essential life skill and your ability to be resilient to stress, setbacks, adversity, and change depends so much on your inner resources and strength. It is also important to understand that the curve balls that life will inevitably throw you, are very often the most valuable lessons when it comes to learning about and building your personal resilience. Being a resilient person is more than just being able to recover and survive, it is also about learning to grow and thrive.Access to additional support materials are available free of charge if you email liggy@liggywebb.com

Self-awareness, self-confidence and self-efficacy all play an essential role in helping you to cope with stress and recover from difficult events. Understanding yourself is the first port of call and then reminding yourself of your strengths and accomplishments is key. Becoming more confident about your own ability to respond and deal with a crisis is a great way to build resilience for the future. Challenges can be stepping stones or stumbling blocks. It’s just a matter of how you view them and how much faith you have in yourself to overcome them.Access to additional support materials are available free of charge if you email info@thelearnngarchitect.com

Staying positive during dark periods can be difficult and it is important to maintain a hopeful outlook. Being an optimist does not mean being naive and ignoring the problem. It means understanding that setbacks are transient and that you have the skills and abilities to combat the challenges you face. There is a risk when something difficult arises that you fall into the pessimistic trap of believing that everything is doom and gloom. So much of resilience is about how you choose to respond to each situation and an optimistic perspective will most certainly lead you in a more positive direction. For more information about free resilience resources email info@thelearninarchitect.com

Being emotionally aware and recognising how you can potentially react in certain situations will help you to exercise more self-control. It will also help you to be more considerate with regards to how your response can affect other people. High emotion can be exhausting so managing emotions during any ordeal will help you to focus your energy where it is best placed. People who are emotionally intelligent and understand their emotions are generally far more resilient. For free materials on resilience please email liggy@liggywebb.com

Being positive about change is a really good approach. You may not be able to control or change circumstances; however, you can absolutely choose and change your attitude towards them so you are far more in control than you think. Flexibility is an essential part of being able to manage change and, by learning how to be more adaptable, you will be much better equipped to respond to any life crisis you experience. Resilient people often utilise these events as an opportunity to branch out in new directions. While some people may be crushed by abrupt changes, highly resilient individuals are able to embrace change and seek to use their energy to influence it. Please email - liggy@liggywebb.com for access to free resilience materials 

The word probortunity is a hybrid between the words “problem” and “opportunity” and looks at the concept of taking every problematic situation and seeking out the opportunity. It works on the premise that even in every crisis situation an opportunity will arise and there will be some benefit. It is a useful approach to problems and helps you come at them from a positive angle. Developing a good set of problem-solving skills is a valuable toolkit to equip yourself with and knowing what practical steps to take will give you confidence when you are faced with adversity. Please email liggy@liggywebb.com for access to free resilience resources 

When you are feeling traumatised, stressed and upset, it can be all too easy to neglect your own well-being. Losing your appetite, overeating, not exercising, not getting enough sleep, drinking too much alcohol, not drinking enough water, driving yourself too hard, are all common reactions to a crisis situation. This is the time when you need to work on building your self-nurturance skills, especially when you are troubled. Making time to invest into your well-being will boost your overall health and resilience and you will be better equipped to face life’s inevitable challenges. Please email liggy@liggywebb.com for access  to free resilience resources 

Building and sustaining a strong network of supportive friends, family and work colleagues will act as a protective factor during times of difficulty. It is important to have people you trust and can confide in. Whilst simply talking about a situation with a friend or loved one will not necessarily make troubles go away, it will allow you to share your feelings, gain support, receive feedback and come up with possible solutions to your problems. Listening to other people’s experiences can be really useful too and, although we can’t always learn from others’ mistakes, there will certainly be some good advice out there. Please email liggy@liggywebb.com for access to free resources and materials 

There is a lot to be said for picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and carrying on. It is not, however, about “toughing it out” at any costs. Self-care and being kind to yourself in the process are essential. Being resilient is about the ability to bounce back and get on with life. The key is to think of each setback or upset as a stepping stone and it is really important to be able to do this quickly rather than festering and ruminating for too long. Letting go of the angst that you experience is important rather than carrying lots of negative baggage with you that will just weigh you down and make the journey ahead more difficult. Please email liggy@liggywebb.com for free resilience resources 

In times of crisis or when you are feeling low it is good to hold on to your dream and not lose sight of the fact that you can always have something to look forward to. There are lots of benefits to creating a vision and setting goals. First and foremost, they help you to develop clarity, which is the first step to helping you achieve what you want in life. Goals unlock your positive mind and release energies and ideas for success and achievement. Without goals, you simply drift and flow on the currents of life. With goals, you fly like an arrow, straight and true to your target. Setting goals gives you direction, purpose, focus and most important of all, hope.Please email liggy@liggywebb.com for more resilience tools and resources 

During this final episode of the Let's talk resilience series Vince and Liggy summarise their highlights and offer additional tips and advice.We also invite you to email liggy@liggywebb.com and share any feedback and also what you would like to be included in the next series of Let's Talk