Social Connection Builds Resilience
Social Connection Builds Resilience
Social Connection Builds Resilience
Humans are social creatures with emotional needs for relationships and positive connections to others. Our social brain craves companionship. We are not meant to survive, let alone thrive, in isolation.
I am so grateful for my tribe. I have some amazing friends and I’m not sure how I would have survived this far without them. These are the people I call when I feel broken. These are the shoulders I cry on. These are my friends who catch me when I fall (and then laugh at me hysterically).
Every April (except this one thanks to COVID), my best girlfriends and I take a camping trip. It is a weekend that I look forward to for months and one of my personal resilience-building strategies.
Different friends ebb and flow through the course of your life, but if you are lucky enough, you will have a lifelong tribe who loves you to your core.
It has been proven that social connection is one of the best predictors of longevity, so in a time where it is so easy to slip into social isolation, here are 4 ways to stay tight with your tribe:
#1 – Know Your Why
I watched a great video recently from Simon Sinek (still can’t believe I got to share a page with him in SUCCESS Magazine) about Why We Form Tribes. He said that we form tribes and connections around a common vision or shared values. We trust the people we’re in the tribe with for better or worse. So, ideally, you want a tribe to form around vision and value.
We are all going through the shared experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, and when you are anxious or feeling down, it is much easier to isolate yourself. Resist the urge to withdraw and make an effort to stay connected to the people in your life that matter most – at an appropriate social distance, of course.
#2 – You Are Not Alone
Social connection and community drive resilience. Like optimism and gratitude, the happiness boost you get from connection with others is crucial to your health and well-being and a key element to building resilience. Having friendships and a sense of belonging is considered a core psychological need and has a big impact on our physical health. One study found that loneliness is toxic. In fact, it’s more harmful to health than obesity, smoking and high blood pressure.
The number of friends you have isn’t as important as the quality of those friendships. Social connection doesn’t mean you have to be an extrovert. It is simply acknowledging that we need each other.
#3 – Seek Support
According to Sinek, we seek out people who have shared experiences because we feel safer in those tribes. Support groups have been one of the ways I have been able to survive this journey with my son, Evan. I credit my support group and my teachers at NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) for helping me survive some of my roughest times. Studies have found that meeting other people who are further along in the same journey helps you to overcome permanence by showing you that you won’t be stuck where you are forever.
Support groups connect you with others who really get what you’re going through and provide human connection. The club that no one wants to be a part of provides incredible bonding. Shared hardships actually make us release oxytocin, the feel-good hormone, and creates common understanding.
#4 – Show Some Love
Take time to connect with the people in your life. Send a text right now to someone. Something as simple as, “I was just thinking about you” can be the little boost that person needs. The added bonus is that you feel good in the process. And, while we all like friends that are sweet and loving, we also need the ones that don’t bullsh*t us, pull any punches, and will hold our feet to the fire. This week, post a photo of you and your tribe on Facebook or Instagram and tag us @AnneGradyGroup!
Our new “normal” has flipped the way we connect upside down, but it hasn’t changed the need to connect. Surround yourself with people who lift you up, celebrate, and laugh with you.
Stay brave and resilient,
Anne
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Anne breaks down the daily habits and skills needed to grow and cultivate RESILIENCE.
I had an incredible time chatting with @dr.cindyspeaks on Positively Altered about one of my favorite topics >> resilience!
💪 We covered everything from how stress affects the brain to actionable strategies for resetting your resilience and reclaiming balance. Plus… we even talked donkeys!
🎧 Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-23-the-resilience-reset-transforming-stress/id1773804535?i=1000699134975
In this episode, we dive into:
🧠 How to train your brain for resilience
😩 The power of sitting in the “suck”
💡 Simple strategies to reset stress and find balance
If you’re ready to transform stress into strength, this one’s for you!
What is on your to-do list for the week? ✅
I’m sure it includes meetings, tasks, personal chores, and follow-ups, but does it include things that bring you joy?
Instead of waiting for happiness, create it.. You can even focus on enjoyable things while doing the have-to do things.
Slogging through paperwork? Light a candle and listen to your favorite tunes.
Going for a drive? Listen to a stand-up comic or a great book.
Don’t neglect what brings you joy and happiness—make it a ritual and part of your resilience-building routine.
You know that heart-stopping moment when you try to change lanes, only to realize that someone is in your blind spot?
Blind spots aren’t just for driving. In life and leadership, we all have blind spots—things others see clearly that we don’t.
The tricky part? Blind spots aren’t always glaring flaws. Often, they’re our good intentions getting lost in translation. So, how do you uncover them?
Here’s a simple twist that will make a big difference: Ask for advice instead of feedback. 🗣
This slight shift makes people more likely to offer constructive, actionable insights—without triggering defensiveness. Plus, it builds trust and strengthens relationships.
Rather than trying to make drastic changes, pick one behavior and integrate it into your day.
Want to start a gratitude practice? Do it while you brush your teeth. Want to take deep breaths? Practice while you make coffee. Adding a new habit to an existing one makes it easier to stick with it.
#mindfulmonday #habitstacking #atomichabits #jamesclear
Humor changes your biochemistry, emotions, thoughts, and behavior. 😆
A positive mood boosts your immune system! Whether you find your laughter through being around friends, going to a comedy show, watching funny movies, or just being goofy, don’t underestimate the power of a belly laugh and a sense of humor.
When something stressful happens, there are really 2 different things taking place.
There’s the thing that is happening, and then there is the story that you tell yourself about the thing that’s happening.
The story is where criticism, judgment, self-doubt, and shame come in.
Whatever you have going on in your life right now, take a step back and try to view it from a third-person perspective. See if you can separate the facts from the story you tell yourself about it.
If we can start to separate the situation from the story, the story becomes much less scary because we realize it is one we’re telling.
This makes it easier to accept where you are without judgment, self-doubt, and shame. What we practice grows stronger. 📕
Anne Grady is a Speaker, Author, and #TruthBomb Dropper.
Anne shares practical strategies that can be applied both personally and professionally to improve relationships, navigate change, and triumph over adversity. And she’ll make you laugh while she does it. Anne is a two time TEDx speaker, and her work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fast Company and Inc. magazines, CNN, ESPN, and FOX Business. She is the best selling author of 52 Strategies for Life, Love & Work and Strong Enough: Choosing Courage, Resilience and Triumph.
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