Resilience is the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.* In other words, being resilient can help you bounce back from changes that are bound to happen in your everyday life, whether they are to your school or work schedule, your relationships, or your life plans. People often think of resilience as bouncing back quickly from change. However, we all bounce back in our own way and at our own pace. There is no one “right” way to be resilient. When dealing with change, what’s important is that you know what you need, and also what your possible blind spots might be.
You can learn a lot about being resilient by looking at the first two letters of your MBTI® type. Those first two letters provide information about how you respond to change and thus what you need to bounce back. They also tell you what you might do to be even more resilient. Here’s how that works.
If your first two letters are IS (Introversion and Sensing):
• Response to change: ISs often need to spend time alone reading or gathering lots of information about the specifics of why the change is happening and exactly how the change will affect what they’re doing. Once they get all the information they need, then they bounce back and feel resilient.
• Limitation: Be careful of getting bogged down and spinning your wheels in information. Also, realize that sometimes you have to bounce back in the absence of complete information. In those cases, remind yourself that the fact is, you can’t always get all the facts.
If your first two letters are IN (Introversion and Intuition):
• Response to change: INs often need to spend time alone conceptualizing the change and processing how the change relates to other things. Once they understand how the change connects to other things, then they bounce back and feel resilient.
• Limitation: Be wary of “overswirling” in your mind about connections and possibilities. Also, realize that sometimes you have to bounce back without exploring all the connections. In those cases, remind yourself that you can continue to explore the change internally.
If your first two letters are ES (Extraversion and Sensing):
• Response to change: ESs often need to take action on the change and do something to make the change happen. Once they take action, then they bounce back and feel resilient.
• Limitation: Be careful of taking action too quickly. Also, realize that sometimes making the best bounce means slowing down. In those cases, remind yourself that slowing down is taking action.
If your first two letters are EN (Extraversion and Intuition):
• Response to change: ENs often need to explore the change with others and to identify additional changes that could be made. Once they explore the change, then they bounce back and feel resilient.
• Limitation: Be wary of making too many changes out of one change. Also, realize that sometimes you have to bounce back in the absence of exploration. In those cases, remind yourself that you can come back and revisit the change and make suggestions later.
Check in with yourself about your perceptions of what it means to be resilient. It’s easy to look at someone with a different MBTI type and think he or she is taking too long to bounce back, or is bouncing back too quickly. Remember, different types have different ways of being resilient—so bounce back in the way that’s right for you!
*Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed.
Join us Thursday, November 15th, 2012 for a free Ask an Expert webinar: MBTI® Type and Stress.
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