Abstract
M.A. (Industrial Psychology)
The aim of the research is to explore the impact of the spiritual life dimension on individuals’ personal resilience through the analysis of narratives. The complexity of the global world of business requires individuals to be resilient in order to survive and thrive. Through focusing on spirituality, the study highlights possible tools and techniques that may assist individuals in developing personal resilience.
A literature review was conducted in order to describe resilience as recognised in the literature and to define the concept ‘spirituality’. The research method was qualitative in order to allow for depth of understanding and more specifically, a narrative approach provided data in the form of meaningful stories.
Purposive sampling was used based on certain criteria with the intention of selecting cases that were best suited to achieve the research objectives. The sample of four professional individuals was small to meet the requirements of in-depth interviews and narrative data analysis. The data collection process explored individuals’ subjective understanding of spirituality and their subjective description of the impact of their spirituality on their resilience.
The findings show that purpose and meaning and religion are the main themes used to define spirituality. Common spiritual practices include: prayer, reflection, meditation/contemplation, visualisation, attending church, and following a spiritual routine. These practices result in positivity for the participants in this study. Setbacks and change surfaced as the main examples of situations requiring resilience.