Resilience is considered by many to be a critical characteristic of effective leadership - but what exactly are we referring to when we use that word? Psychological resilience is seen as the positive capacity of an individual to cope with stress and adversity - but that doesn't do it for me. I immediately think of the Black Knight from Monty Python's Holy Grail - mindlessly pushing forward in the face of adversity - resisting all around him ... (Caution - this clip will be a bit gruesome for some)
The idea that resilience is just about coping seems to sell it a bit short. In physics - resilience is defined as the property of a material to absorb energy when it is deformed elastically and then, upon uploading to have this energy recovered. To bounce back - not in spite of the energy received but because of it.
This definition suggests an ability to be energised by the challenges we face.
This week it snowed where I live for the first time in 35 years. I was down in Wellington for some meetings and I coped with the inconvenience of it all. I turned up my collar, I bowed my head and I pushed my way through the storm. It didn't energise me at all. How could it? And yet - others experienced it differently...
I guess there is more than one way to be resilient. I can simply suck it up - take the knocks and keep stepping in - seeing resistance as something to be resisted - or I can find better frames or explanations for what is before me and turn the experience into something more useful.
I was in the same snow as the people in the clip - but my mind was on where I wanted to be and not where I was. Maybe that's where the difference lies? To be able to make full use of the energy on offer to me I need to be more present - in the moment?
Another word that could be used to describe this kind of resilience is responsive. I wonder how much energy I would have - how much more I could do - if I was more responsive to what was being offered?
Food for thought ....
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