The ability to deal with life’s challenges is something we all benefit from cultivating. Like many other positive life traits, coping and resilience are skills that can be learned and honed, and have wide-ranging effects on the quality of our lives and the lives of those around us. In a webinar, Dr Sarah Ferguson, Executive Director of Breathe Repeat, shared tools and strategies to help build resilience and support wellbeing.

Here are some of the key insights from the webinar:

Resilience is not innate, but is something that can be learned and cultivated. It tends to be situation or context-specific: you can be resilient in one situation and much less so in another. Factors that help build resilience include optimism, connection with others (a support network), and mental agility (learning to reframe challenging situations).

Research has established a number of important considerations in relation to supporting and improving wellbeing. These include good-quality sleep, daylight exposure (20-30 minutes outside), movement (whatever you enjoy), and nutrition.

There are many ways that school leaders can help to improve the wellbeing of their staff. One is by giving staff a sense of autonomy in their work, such as the opportunity to start their own initiatives. Being visible and available to staff, and inviting dialogue, is also helpful. Opportunities that help staff to get to know each other can help build supportive networks and a sense of connection. Creating and communicating a culture of improvement and development can build people’s sense of optimism. Modelling good listening and relationship skills from the top can help, and getting out and about around the school.

The advice that you would give to a new teacher can often be a good way to re-motivate yourself. Consider developing both your inner resources (for example, by thinking about why you got into teaching in the first place, or learning something new to re-invigorate your love of learning) and outer resources (such as asking others for input and advice). Bear in mind that it is difficult to expect your career to light you up at all times. It can help to consider what you can take or learn from difficult situations or difficult periods in your life.

If you would like to read more about positive psychology and resilience, Sarah recommends:

• Grit by Angela Duckworth.
• Books by Martin Seligman including Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment and Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being.
• Books by Ellen Langer such as The Power of Mindful Learning and Counter Clockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility.

To learn more about Sarah’s work, see Breathe Repeat.