At the beginning of 2023, many optical business owners were concerned about the economic outlook. Two months in and, despite some practices having a emptier diary than ideal, most I have spoken to have not experienced a decline in business. The SightCare Conference last month had a really good vibe and some great workshops, while the keynote addresses were enthusiastically received by members and guests. As we look forward to 100% Optical, it feels to me like there is a somewhat buoyant feeling around our profession at present.
Nonetheless, it seems sensible, following on from last month’s article, to revisit the subject of resilience. I have therefore taken the liberty of repeating below my own 10-point plan for building up your own resilience.
1. Expect change
Given my nom de plume, Mentoris, you may expect my first tip to come from a Greek source, so I will not disappoint you. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, is quoted as saying: ‘Change is the only constant in life.’ If we accept this, then we can expect change as a matter of course. This avoids some of the elements of surprise inherently involved with change.
2. Be flexible
Being able to adapt and change to suit the situation is a key to being more resilient. Rather than set your plans and ideas in stone, think in terms of plasticine. This means that, should you need to change your approach, you can do so without too much effort and upheaval.
3. Think ahead
One of the traits of resilient people, is that they expect to face challenges at different points in their lives. They build resilience by planning for certain scenarios in advance, so they are ready on the front foot when those scenarios appear.
4. Be a life-long learner
When you have a negative experience, look to find a silver lining. Rather than focusing on blame and feeling like a victim, try to look for what good could come out of the situation.
5. Be accountable to others
Thinking about what you can do to improve your own situation is one thing, doing it is sometimes tougher. Have people in your life to whom you are happy to share the actions you want to take and ask them to hold you accountable for taking such actions.
6. Talk and share
Staying connected is key if you want to use the support of others to help you. Rather than withdraw when you are going through a hard time, reach out to friends, family and those who care about you. Resilient people have at least one or two confidants in their lives they can turn to for support.
7. Have an overarching sense of purpose
Spend some time understanding your sense of purpose and do things that feed that purpose. Ringfence your own time to make sure you spend time doing things that bring purpose to life for you.
8. Actively maintain fitness
Regular exercise, a healthy diet and proper sleep are well-documented ways of reducing stress and helping you to feel good about yourself, a key prerequisite for improving resilience.
9. Keep smiling and laughing
Hold on to your sense of humour. Smiling and laughter relieves stress and helps to keep a sense of perspective.
10. Be an optimist
Having an optimistic outlook will help you find the positives in life and add to your resilience. Many of the problems we face are temporary. Your brain is incredible thing and can find ways around the most challenging situations, – if you allow it to.
Some of these may come naturally to you, whereas others you may need work harder at. It might pay to pick one per week and stick a post-it note on the fridge, or set a reminder on your phone to remind you to build up these good habits.
- You can email me at Mentoris58@gmail.com to discuss this article.