Seven Daily Practices to Strengthen Your Resilience Muscle
We often talk about resilience as if it’s something you either have or you don’t. Some leaders, the thinking goes, are “naturally tough,” while others crumble under pressure. But research—and experience—show otherwise.
Resilience isn’t a fixed trait. It’s more like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets. And just as athletes train their bodies with consistent practice, leaders can strengthen their resilience through intentional daily habits.
In Vital Signs: A Guide to Healthy Leaders for Physicians, resilience is defined not as bouncing back, but as bouncing forward—adapting, learning, and advancing after disruption. Here are seven daily practices leaders can use to build that kind of resilience into their leadership.
1. Reframe Setbacks as Lessons
Resilient leaders don’t waste energy on shame or blame when things go wrong. Instead, they reframe failures as data.
Ask: What did this teach me?
Capture the lesson: How can I use it going forward?
Share openly: Here’s what I learned, and here’s how I’ll adjust.
This mindset shifts a setback from a dead end to a springboard. Teams quickly follow a leader’s example—if you treat setbacks as lessons, they will too.
2. Strengthen Your “ABC Thinking”
As Vital Signs explains, resilience often comes down to how we think. AC thinking (Antecedent → Consequence) assumes circumstances directly cause outcomes. “This setback ruined us.”
Resilient leaders practice ABC thinking (Antecedent → Beliefs → Consequence). They know it’s not the event but the belief about the event that drives results.
AC Thinking: “This mistake means we’re failures.”
ABC Thinking: “This mistake is painful, but it means we have something to improve.”
Pausing to check your beliefs interrupts spirals of negativity and keeps you moving forward with clarity. It is your beliefs about adversity that actually shape your response. Two individuals confronted with the exact same stimulus who have different belief systems may react very differently. One might react in defensiveness and anger to a critique from their boss (belief: the boss is out to get me), while another might receive that same critique with curiosity and engagement (belief: the boss is on my side). It was not the critique (antecedent) that draws the response (consequence) but the beliefs about the situation that defines the response.
3. Ground Yourself Daily
Leaders under stress can easily become reactive, driven by fear or urgency. Resilient leaders stay grounded through daily centering practices.
Reflection/journaling: 5 minutes of writing on what went well and what you learned.
Mindfulness: A breathing exercise between meetings to reset.
Values check: Ask, Am I leading today in alignment with what I believe?
Grounding builds the calm core resilience requires.
4. Maintain Your Network
Resilience isn’t a solo endeavor. Leaders need support systems to help them process, adapt, and grow.
Build peer circles where candor is encouraged.
Cultivate mentors who can give perspective.
Encourage your own team to “catch” you when you miss something.
Isolation erodes resilience. Relationships sustain it.
5. Train Your Body, Train Your Mind
It’s impossible to lead resiliently when you’re running on fumes. Physical well-being is the foundation of psychological resilience.
Protect your sleep window.
Keep movement in your daily rhythm, even if short.
Fuel with food that sustains, not just comforts.
Every leader knows these basics, but the accountable ones model them. Resilience is easier to call on in crisis when you’ve invested in baseline health.
6. Celebrate Progress, Not Just Perfection
Resilient leaders resist the trap of waiting until the finish line to celebrate. They know that resilience is fueled by noticing forward motion—even when the destination is far away.
Recognize small wins in team meetings.
Call out effort that reflects learning and grit.
Remind your team how far they’ve already come.
Acknowledging progress builds momentum, and momentum is resilience’s best ally.
7. Practice Gratitude
It may sound soft, but gratitude is a powerful resilience practice. Studies consistently show that leaders who regularly express gratitude experience less stress, greater optimism, and stronger relationships.
Practical ways to practice:
Start meetings with one “gratitude round.”
Send a quick thank-you message daily.
Write down three things you’re grateful for each night.
Gratitude doesn’t erase difficulty, but it shifts focus from what’s broken to what’s working—and that shift creates the energy to keep going.
Putting the Practices Together
These practices aren’t dramatic. They’re small, consistent actions that add up over time. The key is not perfection, but persistence. Miss a day, and you start again tomorrow.
Think of resilience as your leadership gym: every practice is a rep. Some days you’ll feel stronger than others, but over time the habit builds durability.
A Story of Compounding Resilience
One department head shared how resilience practices transformed her leadership. In the wake of a failed accreditation review, her team was demoralized. She began starting meetings with gratitude, encouraging debriefs framed as lessons learned, and visibly investing in her own well-being.
Within months, the atmosphere shifted. Staff began volunteering ideas again. Burnout declined. She later reflected, “The change wasn’t one big decision—it was daily practices that kept us moving forward.”
Final Thought
Resilience is not about toughness or denial. It’s about daily practices that prepare you to adapt, recover, and grow.
Leaders who build resilience muscles through reflection, reframing, networks, health, gratitude, and celebration don’t just survive disruption—they bounce forward.
So ask yourself: Which resilience practice will you train today?
Resilience is a daily discipline, not a one-time act.
Discover practical strategies for building resilience and adaptability in Vital Signs: A Guide to Healthy Organizations for Physicians.
If you’re ready to help your leaders and teams strengthen resilience muscles, I also work directly with organizations to apply the HEART framework—turning daily practices into cultural habits. Visit vitalsigns-book.com to explore the book and connect with me about building resilient leadership.