A THRIVE Podcast

Welcome to our final episode on Resilience, as part of UoL's Thrive Podcast.

Missed a previous episode? No worries, find the playlist here.

Listen below, or scroll down for the episode transcript!

Transcript

Hello once again and welcome to the final episode of this podcast series on Resilience. Today, we’re going to talk about building a Resilience Plan.

In the previous episode we talked about Effective Coping and understanding not only how much control we have over a situation, but also when to take action and when to surrender.

The content of this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. This is not medical advice and it is not a substitute for treatment or diagnosis. Please contact your general practitioner for professional medical advice.

I’m Gemma, from the University of London’s Student Health and Wellbeing team and this is a THRIVE podcast. You can find a transcript for this episode on campus life dot London dot ac dot uk.

We’ll use this episode to reflect on what you’ve learned and look back at the ideal captain you described for yourself earlier in the series.

Let’s go back over the four ways a captain responds to the elements.

We experience life’s stresses like captains sailing through stormy weather. And you can’t control the weather, but you can decide how you’ll react to it when steering your boat.

The first way is Attention. A captain with low resilience allows their attention to constantly be captured by only the bad, so their compass often reads fear and sadness. Whereas a high resilience captain looks for signs of good weather through the storm, like the cool breeze – their compass indicates joy. So you can choose to focus on the positive or the negative in the same situation.

The second way is Thoughts. A captain who does not believe in themselves and in their ability to get through bad weather allows their doubt to push them off track. But a captain who keeps in mind that the bad weather is only temporary is hopeful and allows their skills to develop through the stressful situations. Negative thoughts will appear and that’s okay, but you are also capable of having more helpful thoughts, rather than getting overwhelmed with fear.

The next way is Motivation. Focusing on the bad can cause us to forget why we’re even on this journey in the first place, so we end up feeling unmotivated. A determined captain knows exactly where they want to go and why, even when the going gets tough – their motivation keeps them moving in their desired direction. Keep in mind what you value in life, this will inform your goals and be a continuous source of motivation.

The fourth and final way is Action. An unskilled captain will feel distressed in a storm, whereas a skilled captain will stay strong and move more quickly through the rain and wind. You can’t choose what happens to you, but you can choose how you deal with it. Focus on what you’re able to do, and you’ll become a more skilled captain with experience.

Think back to the ideal captain you described previously with your final Call to Action: Write down what you want to pay attention to, the thoughts you want to have, what your values are, and how you will cope with challenges. You can always come back to these notes during hard times. On top of that, write a promise to yourself: How will you stay and become more resilient, what have you learned and what is the most helpful thing you can do for yourself when you feel challenged by life.

And that’s your Resilience Plan completed.

Thank you for listening to this series on Resilience. Feel free to go back and listen any time and for more head to our Campus Life site, and follow us on Instagram at wellatuol. Thank you for thriving.