The roly-poly toys wobble when pushed and have the ability to right themselves or regain their original position after being pushed around. No matter what happens to them, they are able to bounce back to an upright position as if nothing has happened to them. They have something inside them to withstand being pushed around.

Balls and space hoppers bounce yet return back to their original shape. Springs are elastic objects that store energy and add bounce to the toy.

Examples of questions you might use when coaching around bouncing back.

– How do you recover from stressful situations?

– What causes you to feel stressed? What happens? How do you keep yourself going? What techniques do you use to cope with situations that last over a period of time?

– What does optimism mean to you?

– How often are the situations that seem bad to you created by you? How often are the situations that seem bad to you created by others?

– How do you view these situations? Do you feel as though they apply to you alone, or do you see them as being examples of difficulties encountered by everyone?

– What is your reaction to stress?

– How often do you just carry on as if nothing bad has happened to you? How does this make you feel? What happens in the short term? What happens in the long term?

One of a series of 18 images from the coaching toolbox – Images of Resilience – available from RSVP Design.

Images of Resilience is a collection of metaphor cards representing a range of experiences and emotions linked to the theme of resilience. They explore different facets and connections with stress, change, challenge and learning.

Each image is accompanied with a range of suggested coaching questions to explore situations where resilience is needed, and the qualities or skills that can be developed to strengthen resilience.