We all know someone resilient to an extreme. Perhaps your mother provided the world for you despite working three jobs to make ends meet, or maybe one of your old classmates from high school wrote a best-selling novel after experiencing an intense loss. Studies show that highly resilient people tend to share these three attributes: flexibility, acceptance, and purpose.

Needless to say, these attributes are something that you need to discover within yourself, and it’s probably going to take some time to do so. You have the power to build resilience by being more flexible, self-accepting, and purpose-driven, though, which is what we’re going to be discussing in this article.

Flexibility

Consider the strength of a ballet dancer. Someone with this level of flexibility practices and hone their skills every single day, which is the reason why they’re able to dance with such precision and elegance.

Highly resilient people tend to be super flexible (at least mentally), which often stems from an understanding that life doesn’t always work out the way you want it to. You’ll need to be mentally flexible to twist and bend around all of life’s hardships and setbacks (and hey, it wouldn’t hurt to become more physically flexible, either).

Acceptance

Embracing self-compassion and accepting one’s self is an incredibly important part of building resilience. We all need reminders, now and then, that we’re only human. Most highly resilient people have developed a strong sense of acceptance — both for themselves and the world around them.

Oftentimes, you are your own worst enemy, and building resilience involves becoming your own best friend in a sense. To do this, you’ll need to extend the same acceptance and kindness to yourself that you would extend to a loved one.

Purpose

What is your purpose in life? Perhaps you’d like to be a great mom someday, or you dream of being the world’s best clog dancer. Even if you haven’t discovered what your purpose is yet, you can still lead your life with purpose — as most highly resilient individuals do. Leading your life with purpose is ultimately what will help you stay motivated to keep pushing forward every day.

You shouldn’t be afraid to try new things or do things that scare you, either (within reason, of course). That’s another important aspect of purposeful living, and it might even help you discover something new about yourself.