Looking after Ourselves

‘Resilience’ is a term we hear thrown around all to often. We refer to people with the ability to bounce back after a set back or hardship as resilient. For most of the challenges we face in life, we demonstrate resilience and deal with these hardships and trials. However, occasionally, through no fault of our own, we are going to take a hit and face setbacks that knock us around. It is in these moments of multiple hardships and trauma, or when we experience a big setback, that our resilience can really take a hit and be tested.

We can all hope that we are in a good place when hardship hits but this is not always the case. So how do we prepare for the next wave? How can we boost our resilience so that when the next event does hit, we don’t get washed under?

6 easy steps to increase your level of resilience:

1. Get connected – Build and nurture your social network, take the time to build relationships and develop a strong supportive network. Evidence shows that people who have stronger social connections and supports are more likely to have an increased level of resilience.
2. Make every day count – Set yourself one goal to achieve things that are meaningful to you. Achieving a goal is a great way to foster a feeling of control and capacity within your life. Don’t get tricked into thinking that you have to control everything. Identify what is in your control and work on those things. Learn to accept that you don’t have control over some things.
3. Learn from history, don’t live in it – Try to remember when you went through some hardships and how you managed to overcome them. Because, let’s face it, you are still here so you obviously got through it. What worked and what didn’t? How can you adapt the things that worked to apply to this situation?
4. Hold onto hope – This is where not living in the past holds the most weight. Look to the future, understand that everything changes. Accepting this can help you to adapt your strategy to achieving your vision or goal (even if the vision or goal changes because of it).
5. Look after yourself – Ensuring that you’re in the best health that you can be is key to enabling you to cope with hardship when it hits. Eat well, get enough exercise, prioritise rest and manage good sleep patterns, and avoid excessive alcohol or substance misuse. Keeping all of these in balance in the right proportions will give you the best chance at remaining healthy.
6. Be proactive – Simply put, if you know something is coming, do whatever is in your power to prepare. Fire season is coming – prepare your property, cut grass, clean the gutters. Expecting bad storms? Stow loose equipment, move stock off low grounds, stock up on supplies. Prepare, prepare, prepare. The more prepared you are, the more the impact will be reduced.

We all have a level of resilience. The greater the level of resilience, the better we can cope with life’s hardships, setbacks, and disasters. While we all have different levels of resilience, it is possible for us as individuals to follow the above tips to improve our resilience.

If you are doing it a bit tough, your resilience is being tested, and you feel that you need an independent and confidential person to help support you through this period, you can always reach out to

Rural Aid’s Counselling team on 1300 17 55 94 Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm AEST. After hours you can leave a message and we can call you back. It’s confidential, it’s free, and it’s specifically for farmers, their families, and farm workers.