The Resilience Factor: 7 Keys to Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life's Hurdles [Paperback]

Karen Reivich (Author), Andrew Shatte (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 2003

Resilience is a crucial ingredient–perhaps the crucial ingredient–to a happy, healthy life. More than anything else, it's what determines how high we rise above what threatens to wear us down, from battling an illness, to bolstering a marriage, to carrying on after a national crisis. Everyone needs resilience, and now two expert psychologists share seven proven techniques for enhancing our capacity to weather even the cruelest setbacks.

The science in The Resilience Factor takes an extraordinary leap from the research introduced in the bestselling Learned Optimism a decade ago. Just as hundreds of thousands of people were transformed by "flexible optimism," readers of this book will flourish, thanks to their enhanced ability to overcome obstacles of any kind. Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatté are seasoned resilience coaches and, through practical methods and vivid anecdotes, they prove that resilience is not just an ability that we're born with and need to survive, but a skill that anyone can learn and improve in order to thrive.

Readers will first complete the Resilience Questionnaire to determine their own innate levels of resilience. Then, the system at the heart of The Resilience Factor will teach them to:

• Cast off harsh self-criticisms and negative self-images
• Navigate through the fallout of any kind of crisis
• Cope with grief and anxiety
• Overcome obstacles in relationships, parenting, or on the job
• Achieve greater physical health
• Bolster optimism, take chances, and embrace life

In light of the unprecedented challenges we've recently faced, there’s never been a greater need to boost our resilience. Without resorting to feel-good pap or quick-fix clichés, The Resilience Factor is self-help at its best, destined to become a classic in the genre.




From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the capable hands of psychologists Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatté, resilience is not a Band-Aid or a buzzword. It is a habit of mind. The Resilience Factor is a practical roadmap for navigating unexpected challenges, surprises, and setbacks at work and home. Their premise--that your thinking style determines your resilience--underlies the books promise: you can boost resilience by changing the way you think about adversity.

The authors synthesize decades of research in cognitive psychology, particularly the work of Aaron Beck and Martin Seligman, to create seven practical strategies for bouncing back. Each strategy demonstrates how "thinking styles" affect emotions and behavior. "The secret is accurate thinking, not positive thinking," they explain. After completing a "Resilience Questionnaire," readers learn to turn off negative thoughts, avoid thinking traps, detect "icebergs"--the basic beliefs that cause us to overreact--and restore perspective. Each strategy is illustrated with vivid examples, including acting-out teenagers, battle-torn marriages, downsized workplaces, and the loss of loved ones. This insightful book offers clear descriptions of resilient thinking and workable tools for changing our minds. --Barbara Mackoff --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Reivich and Shatté's book is reminiscent of the bestselling Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, not just in the number of skills it discusses, but in the approach the authors take, too. They focus on the thinking rather than feeling side of the human psyche, but their intent is to ultimately affect readers' emotional reactions through helping them reprogram their thoughts. University of Pennsylvania professors Shatté and Reivich argue that feelings are a result of thinking; therefore, by changing the way one thinks, one can control one's emotional reactions to stressful situations. They promote an "ABC" system: "A" stands for adversity ("what pushes your buttons"), "B" is your inherent belief about life, which triggers your responding actions and feelings, or "C" ("consequences"). The A's are bound to keep hitting us, but if we analyze and revamp our B's, our C's will improve, resulting in greater peace and happiness. Although skeptics may not be convinced that changing one's thoughts can change one's life, the book could be of help to those who feel powerless over their emotions. Agent, Richard Pine.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (October 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767911911
• ISBN-13: 978-0767911917
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of Self-Help, November 10, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Resilience Factor: 7 Essential Skills for Overcoming Life's Inevitable Obstacles (Hardcover)

As a psychologist, I have read a lot of self-help books. Typically, I'm disappointed by the flimsy substance and empty "pump up" aphorisms. I was prepared to think the same of The Resilience Factor -- but I was wrong. The Resilience Factor is based on years of scientific research into the "ingredients" of resilience and seven skills that can increase your resilience no matter how resilient (or un-resilient) you are today. The authors describe the work they have done with children, parents, and corporate employees and how these skills can improve your productivity and happiness. Better yet, the book is filled with vivid, compelling case studies (and a lot of humor) which makes the book a pleasure to read. I will recommend this book to all of my clients (and my family and friends). It's a must-read.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly right, March 24, 2007

By 

Susannah Bailin "BusyAtPlay" (CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Resilience Factor: 7 Keys to Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life's Hurdles (Paperback)

All self-help has the same message -- you can only make positive choices in your life if you can figure out what choices you are making without any thought and then changing course by adding understanding. Most processes expect you to figure out why you do what you do by yourself and then layer their method on top to solve your issues. This process has so many different ways to explore your old habits that you can not help but change and make better choices. My only caveat is that you read this book over a long period of time; perhaps one chapter a week to truly process all of the information.I also suggest reading that chapter before bed and letting your subconscious mull over its lessons overniight. Excellent!

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Resilient Thinking is Constructive Approach to the Negatives, November 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Resilience Factor: 7 Essential Skills for Overcoming Life's Inevitable Obstacles (Hardcover)

I agree that 7 is a lucky number, not just for book titles or subtitles. The authors focus on "the thinking rather than feeling side of the human psyche, but their intent is to ultimately affect readers' emotional reactions through helping them reprogram their thoughts." New directions in cognitive therapy, such as this book, are helping people live better lives. I recommend this book highly -- it is almost as good as my favorite, The Positive Power of Negative Thinking by Julie Norem. Resiliency is a good name for adaptive, constructive strategies for dealing with negative thoughts and feelings. For those of us who don't want to be optimists, being 'resilient' is as good a label as 'constructively pessimistic' or any other.