The
KEYS TO HAPPINESS FOR
HUMAN FLOURISHING
Activity: The Resilience Plan (The Four S’s)
Resilience is the ability to cope with whatever life throws at you, and bounce back stronger and more
steadfast than before. Resilient people work through life challenges using personal resources, including
social support, coping strategies, sagacity (which is the wisdom and insight that we hold onto), and
solution- seeking. This exercise helps you draw on your resilience resources to build a personal
resilience plan, which you can use to help you combat any future challenges.
Part 1: My Past Sources of Resilience
Think about a time recently when you overcome a challenge or set back in your life. Perhaps you
injured yourself, or received some negative feedback at work, or had an argument with a friend or
family member. Briefly describe this difficulty below.
Step 2. Identify supportive people
What ‘supportive people’ in your life kept you standing when it would have been easier to fall down?
For instance, did you call an old friend, or ask a teacher for advice, or perhaps a parent or grandparent
gave you a pep talk. Write down who you called on for support in the top right cell of the table in
Appendix A.
Step 3. Identify strategies
What ‘strategies’ did you use to help yourself cope with any negative thoughts and feelings that
showed up in response to the difficulty? For example, did you meditate, or write in a gratitude journal,
or go for a walk, or listen to a particular song or type of music, or have a massage to release tension.
Write down the strategies you used in the bottom left cell of the table in Appendix A.
Step 4. Identify sagacity
What ‘sagacity’ helped you bounce back from this difficulty? Sagacity is the wisdom and insight that
you hold onto. It can come from song lyrics, novels, poetry, spiritual writings, quotes from the
famous, the sayings of one’s grandparent, or learning from one’s own experience. Write down your
sagacity in the bottom right cell of the table in Appendix A.
Step 5. Identify solution-seeking behaviors
What solution-seeking behaviors did you display to help you actively deal with the problem? For
example, did you problem-solve, or seek out new information, or plan ahead, or negotiate, or speak up
and voice your opinion, or ask others for help. Write down the solution-seeking behaviors you
displayed in the top left cell of the table in Appendix A.
Appendix A: My Past Sources of Resilience
Supports Strategies
that kept you upright that kept you moving
Sagacity Solution-seeking
that gave you comfort and hope behaviors you showed
Part 2: My Resilience Plan
Step 6. Describe a current difficulty
In Appendix B, find the difficult situation space and describe a current difficulty or challenge that you
are facing.
Step 7. Apply the resilience plan to the current difficulty
Given the social supports, strategies, sagacity, and solution-seeking behaviors that helped you last
time, let us look at how you could use the same or similar resources to help you bounce back from this
current difficulty you are facing (identified in the previous step). Read through your completed plan
(Appendix A) and write down the skills, supports, strategies, and sagacity that could work again for
you in the blank resilience plan template in Appendix B. Allow some flexibility here in the sense that
the same type of social support/ strategy/ sagacity/ solution-seeking behavior could be tweaked
according to your current situation, for instance going to your manager rather than a parent for support
in the face of a work-related problem. An example of a completed resilience plan is shown in
Appendix C.
Appendix B: My Resilience Plan
Difficult situation:
Supports Strategies
that kept you upright that kept you moving
Sagacity Solution-seeking
that gave you comfort and hope behaviors you showed
Step 8. Carry out your resilience plan
The next step is to put your resilience plan into action. To do this, consider the order in which to use
your different supports, strategies, sagacity, and solution-seeking behaviors: which resource is most
feasible to start with? Often the most feasible resource is the smallest step that you can take, such as
calling your partner. On your resilience plan (Appendix B), place the number 1 next to the first
resource you will use. Then, continue to number your different resources in the order in which you
would feasibly use them.
Then, go ahead an action your first resource, and continue to work through your resilience plan (in
order) until you have overcome this difficulty.
Once you have come through the other side, please move on to the next step.
Step 9. Evaluate your resilience plan
After using this plan, it is recommended you analyze the following:
■ How was it for you to carry out your resilience plan? Did it help you bounce back from
this difficulty?
■ What resources (specific skills/supports/strategies/sagacity) were most helpful to you?
Why?
■ What resources (specific skills/supports/strategies/sagacity) were least helpful to you?
Why?
■ Did you not use any resources, and if so, why?
■ Is there anything you would like to add to your resilience plan?
■ In what other areas of your life could you use your resilience plan? How might things
improve for you?
Appendix C: Example of a completed Resilience Plan
Difficult situation: Stuffed up a job interview and did not get the job
Supports Strategies
that kept you upright that kept you moving
Called my partner Joe - 0432182074 Went for a walk
Called my Mum – 040986722 Smiling
2 Booked an apt with my therapist Mind meditation app
Calming breathing technique
Played with my dog
Did some gardening
Wrote in my gratitude journal
Expressive writing
Sagacity Solution-seeking
that gave you comfort and hope behaviors you showed
Remembered that growth comes from mistakes Asked for feedback from job interviewers
“This too shall pass” - sticky note on the fridge Applied for 3x new jobs
Thought about what I could do differently next time and Sought professional coaching for job interviewing
wrote down on paper
