Being Mindful and Resilient: The Role of Self-Reflection, Rumination, and Well-Being

Resilient individuals are found to be able to cope with the challenges of life. They experience self-control and find the strength to adapt. Mindfulness is found to be associated with resilience. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the association between mindfulness and resilience was moderated by orientations of self-focus and well-being. The sample consisted of 381 Dutch and Flemish employees working in health care, education, and governmental organizations. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. More mindfulness was associated with more resilience. Furthermore, our findings indicated that rumination and well-being moderated the association between mindfulness and resilience (beta = 0.13, p <.01 and beta = -.125, p <.05). Contrary, reflection did not moderate the association between mindfulness and resilience (beta = 0.06, p =.21). The results indicated that the association between mindfulness and resilience was strongest among highly ruminating and low wellbeing individuals. These findings suggest that especially high ruminators and individuals with low well-being might benefit from mindfulness. Therefore, they need to be encouraged to engage in mindfulness-based activities, as they are expected to build resiliency from these activities.