The Resiliency Advantage: Master Change, Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Back from Setbacks [Paperback]

Al Siebert PhD (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2005

Resiliency - the ability to adapt to life's changes and crises - is the key to a healthy, productive life. Unfortunately, it's all too easy to get bogged down by feelings of anger and helplessness. The Resiliency Advantage helps readers banish negative, self-defeating thoughts and break free from the roles of "victim" and "good child" while improving problem-solving skills, maintaining humor and optimism during rough times, and becoming both self-reliant and socially responsible. By mastering the five stages of development - sustaining health, energy, and positive feelings; handling challenges; achieving positive self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-concept; honing the skills and attributes of highly resilient people; and developing a talent for serendipity - readers learn to stand up to adversity, overcome obstacles, and meet life head on.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Berrett-Koehler is pleased to announce that The Resiliency Advantage by Al Siebert was named winner of the 2006 Independent Publisher Book Award in the "Self Help" category at BookExpo America. This year 1,327 publishers from all 50 U.S. states, Canada, and many foreign countries participated in the Award competition, entering over 3,000 titles. The self-help category is the largest of many book categories judged. For The Resiliency Advantage to come out on top of such a vast array of competing books attests to the exceptionally high quality of both the writing and the content.

About the Author

Dr. Al Siebert (Portland, OR) is Director of The Resiliency Center and author of The Survivor Personality. He is an ex-paratrooper with a Ph.D. in psychology. He is internationally recognized for his research into the inner nature of highly resilient survivors. He is frequently quoted in books and articles, and has been interviewed on National Public Radio and OPRAH. His specialty is teaching how to be highly resilient in a world that is changing too fast.

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 1 edition (May 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576753298
• ISBN-13: 978-1576753293
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Al Siebert, Ph.D., founder of the Resiliency Center, led management psychology seminars at Portland State University for more than 40 years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A practical book that provides valuable tools for confronting life's difficult challenges!!!, December 29, 2006

By 

Stephen Pletko "Uncle Stevie" (London, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Resiliency Advantage: Master Change, Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Back from Setbacks (Paperback)

+++++

Self-rate yourself on a scale from 1 (meaning little agreement) to 5 (meaning strongly agree) on the following ten items:

(1) In a crisis or chaotic situation, I calm myself and focus on taking useful actions.

(2) I'm usually optimistic, seeing difficulties as temporary and believe things will eventually turn out well.

(3) I can tolerate high levels of uncertainty and ambiguity.

(4) I'm good at bouncing back from difficulties and quickly adapt to new developments.

(5) I'm self-confident and have a healthy concept of who I am.

(6) I prefer to work without a written job description since I'm more effective when I'm free to do what I think is best in each situation.

(7) I trust my intuition and "read" people well.

(8) I'm a good listener and have good empathy skills.

(9) I've been made stronger and better by difficult experiences.

(10) I've converted misfortune into good luck and even found benefits in bad experiences.

A low score of (under 25) means your resiliency skills are weak and you would greatly benefit from this amazing, easy-to-read, psychobabble-free book by Dr. Al Siebert, a clinical psychologist and Director of "The Resiliency Center". (`Resiliency' means (i) coping well with ongoing negative change (ii) sustaining good health and energy under constant pressure (iii) bouncing back from setbacks and adversities (iv) changing to a new way of living and working when an old way no longer works (v) and doing all this without acting in harmful ways.)

A middle score of (25 to 45) means your resiliency skills are adequate but probably can be greatly enhanced by using this book.

A high score of (over 45) means you have good resiliency skills and this book will validate many things you are doing right.

This book in a nutshell presents five resiliency "levels" or skills (level four is divided into 4 sub-levels while level 5 is divided into 3 sub-levels) so, in effect, the reader is presented with ten essential resiliency skills that Siebert has distilled from "the emerging new science of resiliency psychology." This book, besides other important things, shows you how to:

(1) Sustain strong, healthy energy in non-stop pressure and change

(2) Bounce back quickly from setbacks

(3) Gain strength from adversities

(4) Convert misfortune into good fortune

(5) Overcome tendencies to feel like a victim, and stay detached from victim reactions of others

(6) Overcome the three main resiliency barriers.

Who is this book written for? Siebert explains: "The resiliency guidelines in this book focus mainly on resiliency in the workplace, but they apply broadly to all aspects of life." (Actually, I think Siebert is being too restrictive in saying that these principles "focus mainly on resiliency in the workplace." Personally, I think these principles are essential to know so as to effectively play the game of life.)

What will this book NOT tell you? It "will not tell you what to do or how to act or think...Resilient people are those who decide that somehow, some way, they will do the very best they can to survive, cope, and make things turn out well." This book helps you develop your own unique way of being resilient by being both self-reliant and socially responsible.

As a physically disabled person, my personal favorite chapter was entitled "Mastering Extreme Resiliency Challenges." Included here are true stories from 9/11 survivors. I feel Siebert outdoes himself in this penultimate chapter.

Finally, this book has some key features. Important definitions, exercises, and other important and essential information are isolated from the main narrative as inserts so as to highlight key ideas. Each chapter is broken up into sections with anecdotes, examples, and true stories instead of having one long narrative. At the end of each chapter are insightful "Resiliency Development Activities" that help you utilize and think about the information from each chapter.

In conclusion, this is truly a helpful and unique book. Discover for yourself why this book was named the winner of the 2006 Independent Publisher Book Awards in the "Self Help" category at BookExpo America (the largest book publishing event in the United States) and why it was endorsed by the past president of the American Psychological Association!!

(first published 2005; preface; 13 chapters; main narrative 200 pages; notes; index; acknowledgements; about the author)

+++++

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pioneering the Art of Helping People Master Their Challenges, September 11, 2005

By 

Gloria R. Nash "Speaker, Author" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Resiliency Advantage: Master Change, Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Back from Setbacks (Paperback)

Dr. Al Siebert has been a pioneer in helping people move through difficult life circumstances to master adversity and grow stronger from their challenges. In alignment with the great Abraham Maslow, he has taken the road less traveled in psychology by studying what makes people strong rather than focusing on their weaknesses.

I was blessed to find Dr. Siebert's earlier book, "The Survivor Personality" at a time when I felt very victimized by the circumstances of my life. This was one of the most inspiring books I read. It helped open my eyes to perceive my challenges in a new way, so that I could move forward in my life journey emerging from my problems with greater well-being.

Dr. Siebert's new book, "The Resiliency Advantage," contains down to earth, practical information that can help anyone overcome setbacks and sudden changes that a person experiences as threatening to their well-being. Without the usual jargon of "psychobabble" or "feel-good" superficial advice that I find impractical or unsustainable, this book will help you see your world through a new lens of resilience, one of the primary concepts in emotional intelligence.

Dr. Siebert uses wonderful stories to illustrate these ideas and guaranteed to open anyone's heart.

My favorite parts of the book are the practical exercises that encourage viewing our challenges from a place of strength and as a path of growth. Investing in this book is worth gold if you would like to move your life out of a suvival mode and into one of thriving and getting better every day. I highly reccommend this book to everyone seeking to make sense of any challenge, both personal and the challenges we face in our world today.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Resiliency Advantage, January 11, 2007

By 

Francine Keane (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Resiliency Advantage: Master Change, Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Back from Setbacks (Paperback)

After a challenging year in which I have dealt with injury, financial devastation, and diabolical bureaucracy, it was great to be reminded, once again, that the reason I have thrived is largely because I exhibit 100% of the personality traits of a 'survivor'! The exercises included in this book are brilliant and I have recommended the book to many people, including my rehabilitation physician - who has thoroughly enjoyed my approach to everything but is still trying to figure me out! Should be required reading for all high school students and for anyone who is serious about tapping into real human potential. Thanks Al !