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

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