Angie LeVan is a resilience coach, positive psychology consultant and an associate of Positive Psychology Services, LLC. Angie has studied the science of well-being in the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology program at University of Pennsylvania, and she is a blogger on the topic of resilience for psychologytoday.com. See her profile in our practitioner directory.

Stress has a bad, bad rap – fair criticism or the product of paranoia? Or perhaps both? While chronic stress can definitely wreak havoc on our minds and bodies, research shows that some stress is actually healthy. Unfortunately, these days, we do everything we can to either avoid it or mute it – from spa treatments to stress management programs to a frosty cold beer. While I certainly agree that managing stress is a smart and useful tactic, I also believe that by going to great to great lengths to avoid it, we’re actually doing ourselves a great disservice. We may be stunting our opportunities for growth. Even when we’re faced with ‘bad’ stress, we have healthy, protective mechanisms for coping with it. In fact, we have the ability to thrive despite and even because of challenge.

In the world of academics, thriving is “characterized by the individual displaying less reactivity when faced with stressors, and resulting in a faster recovery or consistently higher level of functioning”.  To the rest of us, thriving is Sweaty Magic – the ability to spin hardship, whether unexpected adversity or self-imposed challenge, into positive growth! But how does one do that, you ask? Interestingly enough, there are many research-supported tricks of the trade for thriving. Above all, Thrivers are masters of challenge and change and grow through challenge and hardship. They know how to lean into stress, how to approach it, relying on their self-resources! Here are a few of the tricks Thrivers use to turn adversity, hardship and challenge into gold-medal value!

1.    Thrivers use Positive Illusions
Findings in social cognition research indicate that there are three different types of positive illusions people use towards growth: 1) self-enhancement; 2) unrealistic optimism; and 3) an exaggerated perception of personal control. Researcher Shelly Taylor and colleagues “suggest that the ability to maintain positive illusions provides the individual with reserve resources” for managing everyday stressors as well as in helping people cope with extremely stressful circumstances. According to these psychologists, positive illusions act as buffers and may even help people find meaning, which may later lead to positive growth.
2.    Thrivers use Positive Reinterpretation – they look for something good in what has or is happening. For example, when Dan lost his job this past May, he decided to look at it as an opportunity to reassess his career path as well as his life values. In doing so, Dan found a new job he truly enjoys, and he now has more time to spend with his family.
3.    Thrivers have a sense of Self-Efficacy (the psychological phenomenon – “I think I can”)  – they believe they are capable of handling stressful situations, whether positive or negative, and they also believe that they can succeed in many different areas of life. Hence, the old adage “If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you’re right” holds more than a grain of truth, especially when it comes to thriving.

Not only are these tricks vital for growing through hardship, they’re also crucial to achieving your best life through overcoming obstacles in achieving goals and cultivating positive change.

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