Commentary: Practicing resilience

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mason Lucas
  • 377th Maintenance Squadron
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  An Airman gets the news that his wife wants a divorce. Another Airman is late for work twice and her supervisor lets her know that she will get paperwork. These are two different examples of the difficulty life can throw at us, but they have a common theme: they both will require resilience.

The Air Force defines resilience as the ability to withstand, recover and grow in the face of stressors and changing demands. The Air Force has determined that resilience is important, so important it has adopted an entire program to teach its tools and concepts - the Comprehensive Airman Fitness program.

Comprehensive Airman Fitness is divided into four pillars or domains: mental, physical, social, and spiritual.

Mentally, people face stressors every day that seek to distract them and keep them in perpetual cycles of negativity. Having awareness, being adaptable, and fostering positive thinking are ways to foster resilience in this area.

Lack of sleep, poor nutrition and lack of exercise are physical actions that can affect resilience negatively. Taking time to recover, eating nutritious meals, and exercising properly turn this trend.

People are also social creatures. Fostering teamwork, practicing good listening, and building social support promotes well-being and optimal performance.

Finally, people are spiritual . This does not mean everyone goes to church, temple, or synagogue, or ascribes to a religious group. It means all people have values that are important to them. Realizing and acting on these values give a person a sense of purpose and enables them to persevere through life's challenges.

CAF is important to the Air Force because Airmen are important to the Air Force. More can be learned about this program by searching for "Comprehensive Airman Fitness" on the AF Portal or looking for the link in the top right of the AF Portal Home tab.

If you are interested in getting involved, the next Resilience Training Assistant training is Nov. 12-14. If you just want to find ways to enhance your personal resilience, contact Teresa Reinhard, Kirtland's community support coordinator, at 846-6427 or Teresa.reinhard@kirtland.af.mil.