Four Ways to Build Resilience

From the Marshall Memo #454

In this Harvard Business Review article, Jane McGonigal describes how, during three months recovering from a traumatic brain injury, she became interested in the science of resilience. She found there are four ways to make yourself a more-resourceful problem solver, more collaborative, and less likely to give up when challenges loom: 

• Physical – getting up from your computer and moving around for a few moments every hour; 

• Mental – performing mildly challenging tasks like counting backwards from 100 by sevens; 

• Emotional – experiencing three positive emotions for each negative one each day; 

• Social – sending a thank-you note or holding a hand-shake a little longer. 

McGonigal believes that playing computer games has the potential to build resilience. It may not be such a waste of time after all!

“Building Resilience by Wasting Time” by Jane McGonigal in Harvard Business Review, October 2012 (Vol. 90, #10, p. 38), no e-link available