Resilience and toughness.
You can be tough, but brittle.
A lot of people think being tough is not admitting weakness.
Game face on 24×7.
It might work for a bit – helping you shoulder challenges head-on, leading team charges into enemy zone and coming out alive at the other end.
However, in my opinion, this is not sustainable.
I’ve seen those in the consulting industry, especially Project and Programme Managers deal with incredible amount of stress, over and over again, who eventually crack under pressure.
“Yep, I’m fine.” – is their mantra.
Mental health generally suffers, and they bear this alone because of course – no one must know that there is a chink in their ‘tough’ exterior.
The resillient ones are also able to manage stressful challenges, but the difference is that they do not pretend to be invincible.
They will have a mentor, or a confidante they can discuss their challenges with, where they can be open about how they are feeling.
Leading by example, their team will also emulate this behaviour – learning the difference between resillience and toughness by forming emotional support for each other.
These teams understand the importance of a strong support network.
Choose to be resillient, instead of toughness.
It’s more sustainable in the long run.
Your mental health will thank you for it.
#bekindtoyourself
#resillience
#zenhaoprotip