The resistant personality: are you a strong person?
"We are what we do with what they did with us"
-Jean Paul Sartre
We can not choose our life circumstances, but yes we can modulate our thoughts and attitudes before what surrounds us. In this way, indirectly, we can shape our circumstances.
How is your personality?
Once upon a time there was a peasant that he took care of some horses to help him in the agricultural work on his small farm. One day, the foreman gave him bad news: the best of his horses had fallen into a well. The peasant could not believe it and went quickly to the place, where he could see the horse at the bottom of the well. With all his strength, he tried to get the horse out. Seeing that it was impossible and unable to find a solution to get the horse out of the hole, he had no choice but to ask the foreman to dump the well into the well so that the horse would be buried there.
The foreman started throwing sand. The horse, eager to continue living, He did not allow himself to be buried by the earth that was falling and he used it to go up, with a lot of effort, until finally he managed to leave .
What is your attitude in life? Do you let the earth engulf you or use it to climb?
The characteristics of a strong personality
A person resistant is one that despite suffering problems and even disorders that could be destabilized, is able to maintain strength, resist and stay afloat .
This class of subjects are not immune to the events of life that we all live, such as the death of a loved one, a sentimental breakdown, a bad work situation ... but they differ from others in that they are able to accept in a stoical way these setbacks in life and draw strength from weakness to keep going.
What traits define a resistant personality
Suzanne C. Kobasa , psychologist of the University of Chicago , directed several investigations in which he detected that individuals with resistant personality have a series of characteristics in common. They are usually people of great commitment, control and oriented to the challenge (Kobasa, 1979).
These conditions allow them to be more able to fit what life holds and overcome these adversities more quickly and durably than other people.
Components of the resistant personality
- The ability to compromise It indicates that the person believes in what he does and is committed to what matters to him. The commitment includes various aspects of life, such as the workplace, interpersonal relationships, responsibility with daily obligations, etc. These people not only confront stressful situations more impassively, but also tend to be skillful when helping other people to face this type of experience.
- The control It refers to the ability of the subject to find their intrinsic motivations. That is, they are able to feel motivated by something without having to be compensated directly by a third person. They feel passion for what they do. This attitude helps them to feel themselves, and to enjoy their time. They usually experience more control over their lives and, therefore, know that they can face their problems, because they depend on themselves.
- The challenge: People with a taste for challenges consider change as something consubstantial to life. They understand changes not as failures but as beneficial challenges for their individual development, as an opportunity to improve and continue to progress in any area of life.
Resilience: the essence of the resistant personality
Maddi and Kobasa they also discovered that the resistant personality type is an important factor in predicting psychological resilience. Resilience is usually defined as the ability of individuals to overcome periods of emotional pain and adversity.
Recommended text: "The 10 habits of resilient people"
The way in which the resistant personality confers resilience seems to be a combination of cognitive elements, behavioral mechanisms and certain biophysical behaviors. Succinctly, it can be affirmed that as the stressful circumstances increase, so does the physical and mental tension of the person, and if this situation is sufficiently intense and prolonged, imbalances in health and performance are to be expected (Maddi, 2004).
In summary, Maddi (2006) maintains that the resistant personality style has a moderating effect on this process , fostering effective mental and behavioral coping, the construction and use of social support, and participation in effective personal and health care practices.
Bibliographic references:
- Maddi, S. R., & Kobasa, S.C. (1984). The hardy executive: Health under stress. Homewood, IL :: Dow Jones-Irwin.
- Maddi, S. R. (2004)."Hardiness: An operationalization of existential courage". Journal of Humanistic Psychology 44 (3): 279-298. doi: 10.1177 / 0022167804266101.
- Maddi, S. R. (2006). "Hardiness: The courage to grow from stresses". Journal of Positive Psychology 1 (3): 160-168. doi: 10.1080 / 17439760600619609.
