Why Resilience Matters

As she joined a conference call a friend overheard a less than flattering description of her qualities. Later, listening to her hurt and complaint I was able to help her take the inadvertent feedback and learn from it, lighten up and move on with a greater insight and strength.

That’s resilience.

Being able to recover fairly quickly from tricky moments or tough times. Not always easy but always worthwhile if we are to be open to or to create change.
We really can bounce back, like a piece of elastic.

As new challenges arise we take them on with all the flexibility required when we move into new territory.
If we are resilient, we become stronger.

Resilience of thought and action is…

. . . the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties – an inner toughness

. . . nurturing our ability to spring back with flexibility

. . . giving ourselves permission to try something out, to take risks, to flex our muscles, learn from mistakes and recover from them quickly.

“Rigidity is the antithesis of resilience. If we are rigid, we break.”

– WalkTall Mary

Learning to bounce forward

Sam Cawthorn writes in his book Bounce Forward about his recovery from a major car accident in which he lost an arm and almost died.
Sam coined the term bounce forward to describe being able to not just bounce back from terrible injury but also to move or bounce forward into a new and different life, stronger and more resilient.

“To create change, I learn more from flexible resilience than I do from rigid thinking.”

– WalkTall Mary

When we are resilient, there’s elasticity, with flexible, open thinking that gives us choices about how we create change or move through tricky times.

Try it! Imagine the possibilities…

WalkTall

Mary x