Resilience - Where does it come from?

Resilience - where does it come from? Why are some people wired for it and others aren’t? Can it be taught? My 4th-grade daughter recently brought home a poem that they reviewed in class called “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters” by Portia Nelson and it made me think about resilience and how often it isn’t taught or discussed with younger kids. Go ahead, read it - it’s worth the read!

When I look around, we’re still very much in a “everyone gets a trophy” culture. But, I have seen resilience show up in kids when it is modeled by others around them, when they are encouraged to keep trying, when they feel connected to others, or when they see positive results from practicing it. When kids experience the benefits of resilience, they will keep using it to persevere.

Imagine if every parent, teacher, coach, mentor, boss, friend, everyone in your community, valued resiliency over winning or losing. But not resiliency as participation. Resiliency is:
⭐ trying something again and again in different ways until you find a way that works
⭐ experimenting and finding efficiencies where they didn’t previously exist
⭐ dealing with gains and setbacks
⭐ getting up after feeling knocked so far down
⭐ raising your hand and saying “I need help"
⭐ using the power of your feelings to push forward, even when they’re pulling you backward
⭐ practicing self-awareness and using it to choose the best path for yourself

What is your definition of resilience and how does it show up in your life and work?