In a study conducted in the US, cadets in a military camp were evaluated for their cognitive abilities and other character traits. It was concluded that “grit” or “resilience and resolve”, rather than IQ or any other character traits, is the stronger predictor of performance excellence amongst the participants. This increased acknowledgement of the importance of resiliency is being reflected in job interviews where recruiters are beginning to take more and more preference towards candidates who demonstrate emotional resilience over other candidates who may hold greater academic achievements. This is the result of cautious hiring where recruiters are reviewing candidates from a generation of millennials who are generally perceived as “fragile and self-entitled”.
Here, let us talk about why it is important to build your child’s mental resilience to give them the advantage in life.
1) Resilience will give you an edge in employment
From a more practical point of view as the introduction explains, while academic achievement remains as one of the key recruiting criteria as it demonstrates subject matter competency, recruiters are taking preference towards candidates who also demonstrate resiliency. There are various ways companies may try to detect resiliency in their candidates, but the common understanding is that new employees who are not resilient risk facing difficulty adapting to their new work environment, have poorer relationships with colleagues and have a higher chance of leaving the job within the first few years in office. This loss of productivity is what companies will try hard to avoid.
2) Resilience pushes you to overcome obstacles
Now from a self-growth point of view, resilience simply prevents you from giving up too easily. In a world where we are conditioned have instant gratification, kids have become averse to putting effort and time in pursuit of more significant achievements. While cognitive abilities and talent are both important, resilience will give your kids the extra push to ensure that they reach their ultimate goals.
3) Resilience protects you from social challenges
In a world where we are bombarded with emotions from social media, resilience will empower our kids with the necessary mentally protection to stay mentally healthy and prevent mental issues like depression.
4) Resilience gives you the confidence to live through uncertainty
In an uncertain world, marked by the pandemic, rapidly changing technology and job landscape, it is necessary that we ourselves develop the mental composure to deal with uncertainties calmly. Resilience gives us the confidence that as long as we out in necessary effort, we can ride through any storm.
In a separate article, we will explore how to help your kids develop resilience and how companies try to detect resiliency. Stay tuned.
Here at Genie, we care about our students beyond their academics. Click here to find out more about us!
All the best to you on your parenting journey!