Mentally Prepare for Your Financial Comeback

We're an exceptionally resilient species. You can see the evidence over and over, in our history books and in our willingness to suffer through daily rush-hour commutes. We survive and we go on to thrive. That's how we roll.

At least that's how we eventually roll. Lately, that can-do attitude -- the one that helps us adapt to adverse situations (or, more specifically, "soul-crushing stock market losses") and to bounce back afterward -- has gotten harder and harder to muster. So let's see what the professionals recommend.

The Money Shrink Is In

Resilience is a trait that, according to the American Psychological Association (APA), we all possess to some degree -- the meek and the mighty alike. Better yet, it seems that it's possible to become more resilient -- to better equip ourselves to adapt to life-changing situations, such as postponed retirement or temporary job loss.

"[Resilience] involves behaviors, thoughts, and actions that can be learned and developed in anyone," the APA tells us. On its website, the APA outlines 10 ways to build resilience. But I've adapted the five that best relate to individual investors:

1. Avoid seeing crises as insurmountable problems. "You can't change the fact that highly stressful events happen, but you can change how you interpret and respond to these events," says the APA. The economy imploded, and it's not your fault. (If it is, may I have a word in private, please?) So instead of dwelling on everything that went wrong because of the crisis, focus on what you can do to make things go right in the future.

2. Accept that change is a part of living. We made plans (to retire, send kids to college, go on a cruise, and so on), and those plans have been foiled. But these things happen, so we need to accept that and move on. Here, again, look for opportunity. For example, we may very well be in the midst of the best investing opportunity in 35 years. The pressures on institutional investors, hedge funds, and companies themselves have created artificially deflated prices for some very solid companies. (See the "Related Links" box for a few articles that'll help you get back in the game the right way.)

3. Come up with realistic goals, and take small steps to move toward achieving them. If you try to take on too much, like attempting to make up all of your losses in a week of frenzied day trading, you'll quickly get burned -- or burned out. Instead, map out the small "to-dos" that lead up to the big "Tah-dahs!" and make those your goals.

4. Take decisive actions. In other words, do rather than stew. Your problems aren't just going to disappear if you ignore them. When you start to do the things necessary to get back on your feet, the momentum builds, right along with your confidence! A related investing strategy we like is to dollar-cost average your way back into the market -- invest small amounts on a regular basis so that your cost basis averages out over time. That approach allows you to rebuild your nest egg while you smooth out your exposure to volatility.

5. Keep things in perspective. Even better, keep things in long-term perspective. Countless studies show that we overweigh recent events when we make decisions that have long-term consequences. CNBC doesn't exactly put anyone in the long-haul frame of mind. So turn it off and tune out everything else that encourages investor myopia.

Remember, the credits for this chapter in your investing career have not yet begun to roll. So catch your breath, powder your nose, and prepare for your next big comeback, kiddo.

Fool.com columnist Dayana Yochim self-medicates with caffeine, pictures of baby animals, and a long-term investing perspective.