ABSTRACT
How did I arrive at my list of strengths? Through extensive reading of the resilience literature, the valuable learning I've acquired over the years from my clients' struggles with adversity including those who didn't make it, what I've learnt from my training in and practice of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) over the last 20 years, my own battles with tough times which helped me to practise what I teach ± though certainly not with perfect consistency ± and gain deeper insight into the nature of resilience. I'm not claiming to have captured the essence of resilience in these strengths because, as I said in Chapter 1, this essence remains ultimately elusive. But I do believe that if you acquire some or most of these strengths, and add them to your existing ones, this will considerably increase your resilience staying power for facing and overcoming misfortune. Probably all writers on resilience (or, more accurately, the writers I've read) list the attributes, attitudes, qualities, factors, abilities, skills, strengths ± whatever term they use ± that they believe are the foundation of a resilient outlook. So here is my non-de®nitive list of the strengths underpinning resilience in no order of importance (even if some entries are considerably longer than others).
