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The 7 C’s of resilience is a critical concept that everyone should embody, yet it’s something that’s primarily overlooked. As a skill, resilience is perceived as natural and inherent in everyone—it’s embedded deep within the human DNA. Thus, there should be no need to pay close attention to it.

Wrong.

While resilience is a natural instinct present in everyone, a companion to their desire for survival, it is still considered a skill that requires development. Like riding a bike, resilience needs practice. People need to observe behaviors and develop correlated skills should they wish to strengthen how they cope in life. In a world where conflict and challenges may arise from mostly anything, what are the basic 7 C’s of resilience to help people cope?

How Does Building Resilience Help?

In Hurdles: Surviving Difficult Times, Dr. Ric Vandett recounts the numerous challenges and immense helplessness people are bound to face as they pursue happiness in life. Throughout these, the author highlights the one thing that will help people power through: resilience.

Resilience isn’t the glorified concept of humanity rising from the ashes to continue fighting onwards. It’s not even the absence of difficulty and the feeling of being troubled by circumstances. Instead, it’s the process of embracing these circumstances through self-trust and confidence to recover.

Resilience isn’t invulnerability. It’s learning to benefit from vulnerability.

As Dr. Ric Vandett reflects in his book, resilience is a powerful tool that changes everything in life. However, most young adults may already start feeling helpless the moment they experience failure. They struggle to cope with adversity, and this is a very debilitating state. But here’s the good news: resilience can be taught and sharpened, starting by learning the 7 C’s of resilience.

What Are the 7 Learnable Skills of Resilience?

Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg first identified the 7 C’s of resilience as the principles for helping people foster adaptability through adversity. By applying these 7 C’s of resilience, people are expected to better navigate life’s challenges with fortitude and a renewed sense of self-trust.

Resilience builds when people trust and harness their inner strength, helping them develop strategies that weather life’s adversities.

Confidence: A Strong Sense of Self

Confidence is the most vital ingredient in the 7 C’s of resilience. After all, people can only stand back up after troubles if they believe they can succeed. Confidence in resilience is measured by people’s belief in their abilities. It comes with the trust that regardless of what they face, people can overcome obstacles because of their strengths.

By celebrating these small wins, people learn to cultivate a more positive self-image, which will bolster their resilience with unwavering self-assurance.

Competence: The Skills to Navigate Life

One way to bounce back after stumbling down is to learn how to face similar situations better. People don’t simply learn their strengths if they don’t go through different experiences. This means they must embrace a growth mindset and ready themselves to seize opportunities that push their boundaries. Life has ample of those, and to become more competent, people are encouraged to experience more of them.

Connection: Relationships for Support

Humans are social beings, and a strong sense of connection with others is one of the most crucial ingredients in the 7 C’s of resilience. Surrounding oneself with friends and family—people to foster healthy relationships with—helps people better empathize and understand themselves, especially during hard times. With a healthy social environment, people are likewise exposed to different perspectives, which will teach different coping strategies.

Character: True to One’s Values

Resilient people have strong character integrity. This is one of the basic foundations, the most important aspect in the 7 C’s of resilience. When people have an established and strong compass to guide their decisions, they’re geared to take better actions, especially in dire circumstances. Developing a strong character requires people to introspect and understand their core values, which can help align their actions with these.

Contribution: Purpose to Build Resilience

One reason people don’t easily give up is that they have enough motivation to continue. Hence, finding purpose in life through contribution is one of the most crucial ingredients in the 7 C’s of resilience. When people engage in activities for a more significant reason than their personal needs, resilience is nurtured by reinforcing self-fulfillment.

Coping: Better manage Stress

To become more resilient, people should know how to handle their negative experiences better. This means they should learn more coping strategies to help them better handle challenges. These mechanisms are essential for resilience and promoting emotional and mental well-being.

To develop better coping mechanisms, people should open themselves to more activities like mindfulness, therapy, journaling, or other hobbies that bring them joy and distract them.

Control: Take Charge in Life

Nobody has power over one’s life other than oneself. Knowing what aspects of life one has control over empowers one to respond effectively. By identifying these, people’s resources are better spent finding solutions that work and not worrying about things beyond one’s power. Control within the sense of the 7 C’s of resilience means adapting people’s mindsets and adjusting their actions when faced with challenges.

Applying the 7 C’s of Resilience in Life

It’s important to apply the 7 C’s of resilience in life to foster resilience and enhance people’s ability to navigate challenges. When conflicts are ever-present in life, it’s essential that people know healthy ways to cope and overcome them. Whether it’s in children or young adults, instilling these 7 C’s of resilience must start now, for there’s no better time to emerge stronger and wiser.

To start your growth journey, grab a copy of Dr. Ric Vandett’s book and read how the author has defined resilience and his step-by-step guide to developing it.