BUILDING RESILIENCE

About this course

Resilience has become a hot topic recently. In the last few years, we’ve heard lots of talk about the need to adapt to life with Covid-19, to rebound from the pandemic, adapt to life with Covid-19, and become more resilient in the face of upheaval caused by such global events. We also intuitively understand that resilience is important in dance, particularly for freelancers as they navigate an unpredictable career path with its lack of formal structures and varied rates of pay.

While the term has been used a lot, it has rarely been defined. Many myths also surround the concept, such as it representing a kind of toughness, independence, and martyrdom. But resilience isn’t about pushing relentlessly through difficulties or going through something alone. It’s also much more than the ability to “bounce back”. We need to understand that resilience is a process – and it’s something that everyone has the capacity to develop. That’s what this course is all about!

You may have read my blog which gives an overview of the definition of resilience. If what you read resonated with you, this course will take you much deeper into the concept, helping you to build your resilience by increasing your optimism and self-confidence. You’ll learn how to better manage stress and how to change the way you perceive situations to reduce negative reactions to them. You’ll explore the importance of social support and how you can offer support to others, too. This course is generously supported by One Dance UK as part of their commitment to champion freelancers in the UK dance industry.

The course comprises 8 videos with over 115 minutes of content introducing you to the theoretical foundations of resilience as well as evidence-based strategies and ideas. There are 8 worksheets (totalling 24 pages) which can you edit or print and complete again and again. Topics covered in the course include:

Defining resilience
Optimism and attributions
Optimal motivation
Self-confidence, goals and values
Handling stress and pressure
Cognitive reframing and the challenge mindset
Rest and recovery
Seeking and using social support

How to use this course

This course is comprised of short instructional videos and work sheets with practical tasks and exercises. The videos introduce you to the theoretical foundations of each concept, to equip you with the understanding you need to make positive changes. Each video is accompanied by a work sheet with a range of tasks and exercises to help you apply what you have learned to your own life. Don’t skip anything: the courses are designed to build knowledge and skills cumulatively and should be done in order.

While I suggest you could take around 3 weeks to complete the course, this really is just a suggestion. Don’t try and do the courses quickly – if anything, take your time and give yourself longer than the suggested course duration! As the videos and work sheets are concise, you may be tempted to do the whole lot in one day, but I strongly discourage that. You need to leave at least one or two days between videos and accompanying work sheets so that you can reflect on what you have learned, and practice the exercises. Some exercises should be done over a period of days to get the full benefit.

Finally, just like we need to practice our dance skills, you will need to practice these psychological skills, too. Doing them once will have some benefit, but doing them over and over is what will really help you to create positive change and start seeing a real difference in how you feel. Commit to continuing with at least two or three of the exercises from this course over the next couple of months, and reap the rewards!