Creating Mindful Leaders

Chapter 17Getting Positive – Don't Call it a Comeback

I never lose. I either win or I learn.

—Nelson Mandela

One of the keys to maintaining positivity and bringing what you envision into the world is resilience. Webster defines resilience as “the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.”¹

Over the past few years, “resilience” has become the preferred term for the skill to adapt and thrive. Employers want employees to be resilient in the face of ongoing change and disruption. For many employers, resilience sounds more relatable than “mindfulness” or “emotional intelligence.” Resilience has an edge to it—a feeling of accomplishment. It also sounds better than “suck it up,” a sentiment that old‐school leaders should drop. Yesterday.

Our emotions, actions, and performance are all interconnected. When it comes to being a motivated and high‐performing professional, strong mental resilience (a positive way to think, perceive, and remember information) leads to inner calm. This, in turn, leads to higher emotional resilience (our ability to roll with the punches, adapt, and move forward).

The opposite is also true. Limited mental resilience (a negative mindset) leads to inner turmoil in which stress and anxiety are fed by ongoing negative thoughts and perceptions. This, in turn, leads to a reduced ability to manage our emotions. As leaders, we are practicing ...