Distinguishing between Managing Stress and Building Resilience

Defining Stress Management: The Real-Time Response

It is very important that we learn to distinguish between what it means to manage stress and what the act of building our own resilience entails.

Stress management refers to the skill of handling something that is happening right now, i.e., a real-time response.

This applies to a small problem, such as realizing you locked your keys in the car, as well as a much larger one.

Knowing how you deal with a challenge that is happening now, such as finding out you are about to be laid off, is the essence of stress management.

It is a reactive skill, focused on the tactics we can use to navigate a crisis or problem that has already occurred in our lives.

Building Resilience: Training Inner Strength

On the other hand, the act of developing resilience is a very different, which can be compared to weightlifting training.

It's long-term training to develop our inner strength and resourcefulness, preparing us for the future.

The goal of building resilience is to enable us to better manage stress, not only now, but also in all future situations we will face.

It's a proactive approach, focusing on strengthening our mind and character before difficulties appear, so that we are better prepared for them.

Practices and Habits for Long-Term Protection

Building resilience involves learning and integrating into our lives a set of practices and habits that serve as protection against future stress.

These practices are designed to make us fundamentally more tolerant of pressure, increasing the capacity of our "bucket" to hold more without overflowing.

Unlike stress management, which is a reaction to a problem, building resilience It’s a deliberate action that seeks to strengthen our foundation.

It’s a commitment to our own long-term well-being, investing time and energy into habits that will make us stronger in the face of inevitable adversity.