The concept of resilience in older adults comes from later life experiences. It demonstrates that despite the changes, physical declines, and losses we may experience in life, cultivating resilience can help seniors feel more happy, healthy, content, and more capable of overcoming setbacks.
Let’s discuss why it’s important to develop resilience and how it can help you deal with what life throws at you.
The importance of resilience in senior life
Resilience is your ability to successfully adapt to adversity, cope with change, recover from crises, and emerge from these experiences as a better person. You can develop resilience through dealing with a multitude of problems. Sometimes it may manifest when going through a physical and mental recovery from a stressful or traumatic event. Whether it be losing a loved one, caregiving for your partners, or acquiring a disability, seniors who show resiliency have an increased ability to overcome setbacks and thrive in a world of change.
How to cultivate resilience in older adults
Even if you’re not ordinarily resilient, there are some strategies to becoming so. Here are some of the ways you can develop resiliency:
Focus on the positive
It’s important to adopt a positive attitude to become resilient. Resilient people consider adversities in life as challenges to overcome, not paralysing events. Maintaining a positive attitude despite hardships can create opportunities for growth and help you develop effective coping styles when dealing with life problems.
Maintain perspective
Resilient people demonstrate level-headedness. They know that some situations may be overwhelming to experience, but understand that these events shouldn’t make a long-term impact on their self-worth. When you gain the ability to handle your problems and are flexible enough to adapt to the changes that come with them, you’ll more likely demonstrate characteristics that lead to resilience.
Set goals
Whether you’re living with family or practising independent senior living, you should set personal goals even when you’re at a later stage in life. Setting personal goals can give you a sense of purpose. Involving yourself in activities and accomplishing them can give your life meaning and enable you to have a positive outlook on the future.
Connect with others
Making a conscious effort to engage with family, and friends, or join close-knit communities allows you to make personal connections that build individual strengths and competencies. When you connect with others, you learn more about yourself, your potential, and your gifts. It also provides you with resources to adapt to adversity, increase your self-efficacy, and persevere in the face of hardships.
Make the changes you deserve
Now that we know that resilience yields happier and healthier older adults, it’s crucial to find ways to cultivate it. Although easier said than done, incorporating behaviours that lead to resiliency in your daily life can help. Whether through personal connections or engaging in meaningful activities that give you a sense of purpose, you can develop a resilient mindset and attitude, one day at a time.
Join the close-knit community at Settlers Lifestyle Village
Join the Settlers Community and live the life you’ve always imagined. Settlers Albany is one of the finest lifestyle retirement villages in Auckland. It’s a place where you can meet new people, do the things that you love, and gain access to the support services you need! Learn more about life at Settlers today!
