When it comes to behavioral sciences, most people think that it is only relevant when you are talking about mental health. The next connection is if we are talking about mental health then we are addressing mental illness. But behavioral science crosses the boundaries of mental stability and can be found in any number of areas. Organizational structure, Training and development, transitioning veterans to civilian lifestyle, transitioning teens to collegiate living.
When you take step back you realize the commonality in all of those categories is how YOU learn, and how YOU apply what you’ve learned. Resilience is the determining factor of how you apply what you’ve learned. Another misconception is that you can’t build resilience, an individual either is resilient or they are not. The vast and wonderous world of behavioral science teaches that resilience is fostered through environmental factors and community contributions, and if, by some miracle you have the right combination of promotive factors that outweigh risk factors then maybe through challenges that come you will find that you have been resilient.
But I’ll simplify it for you, in the late 90s early 2000’s the CDC paired up with nickelodeon to put out a campaigned to encourage kids to get active instead of watching tv. Its slogan “Verb, its what you do” now ignoring the irony of the television telling us to stop watching television and get and play, the definition of the word “verb” was in the implied action. Well resilience is allot like that campaign, the evidence of resilience is in the action; its in what you do. As such, you can participate in behaviors that build your resilience or you can participate in behaviors the decrease it. Resilience, its what YOU do.
