Last Monday was the first day of Wimbledon and was met with glorious sunshine and a record-breaking crowd queuing at the gates, no doubt courtesy of the history-making win by Andy Murray last year. True supporters of Andy Murray will understand the suffering that comes with watching him play tennis. Sometimes he is flawless and can knock out 3 straight sets before you’ve finished your Pimms, other times it feels like he has completely forgotten how to play.
The one thing that Andy Murray has in abundance is resilience. It is this quality that kept him going after his heartbreaking defeat to Roger Federer in the 2012 Wimbledon Final so that he could win a Gold Medal in the Olympics and then come back to Wimbledon in 2013 and take the trophy, a truly memorable match which I can proudly say that I attended! I never get tired of saying that, although some people get tired of hearing it…
Resilience is what has kept Andy Murray strong and will hopefully help him lift that trophy again this summer. So how can resilience help you? Resilience is about maintaining a top standard when circumstances may be pressuring you to bend, a real likelihood in any organisation. So here we look at 5 qualities of resilience and how they can help you.
Determination
To remain resilient you need to have a main goal and the determination to succeed. For many this could simply be the determination to do your best work every day. For Murray it is his determination to maintain his top level of tennis and win as many Grand Slams as possible. He has two already so there’s no doubt that he can do it, but he seems to like to make us question him sometimes…
Positive Realism
It is important to maintain a positive attitude, but to stay within the realms of reality. Optimism is great, but as with most things, it is best kept within moderation to avoid devastating disappointment at some point down the line. Murray, although sometimes he seems a bit glum, keeps a positive attitude about what he can achieve. He knows his strengths and weaknesses and so sets his goals based on these. He won the Junior US Open in 2004, so he could realistically aim to win as an adult, his strength is on grass courts so he can realistically aim to win Wimbledon.
Self-Management
By actively managing your actions and emotions, you will have better control of the outcome of most situations. Self-managing your emotions is especially crucial in the workplace just as much as it is on the tennis court. You can tell when Murray is letting his emotions, usually frustration, get to him because his performance slips. He makes silly unforced errors and loses control of the game. This happens in any situation when you don’t keep your emotions in check. By giving in to anger and frustration you are letting the emotion control the situation and you lose rationality.
Self-awareness
By being aware of yourself in each moment you are able to perform your best standard of work. The practice of mindfulness has been said to be crucial to maintaining resilience at work. Mindfulness is the practice of focusing purely on the task at hand and not dwelling on the past or the future. Murray must be aware of his every movement when playing tennis, especially in his matches in the coming weeks. If he lets thoughts of last year’s win or this year’s potential win distract him from his playing, then he could make crucial errors which will cost him the trophy.
Good relationships
The most important part of being resilient is maintaining good relationships around you. It is harder to remain strong if you don’t have good, supportive people in your corner. Murray is lucky to have his coach, Amélie Mauresmo to guide his training, his mother, Judith Murray, who has supported his playing since he was a child, his long-term girlfriend, Kim Sears who is always cheering him on in his matches and of course, all of his fans and supporters who sit on the edge of the sofa cursing and cheering him in equal amounts.
Resilience is an essential quality to have in the working world, especially today. Sometimes it feels like we are being hit at by information from all angles, our colleagues, the phone, emails, Social Media. Everyone wants something and they all want it at the same time, so it’s important to remain resilient and keep a sense of perspective. You’ll be pleased to know, however, that if you’ve made it this far in and you’re still going, then you’re already pretty resilient! So keep up the good work and let’s hope that Andy Murray can too and make history again this year.