Resilience – a noun or a verb; finite or dynamic?

At the beginning of March 2019 I would have described myself as extremely resilient, capable of operating at a very high level, spinning many plates and all under loads of pressure. The sales numbers my team are I were regularly delivering totally backed this up.

The greater the target and workload, the harder I would push and would compensate by playing harder with competitive sport and being very social (always with alcohol).

By all the metrics that I considered important, my strategy was working very well and I liked to project calm, confidence, competitiveness and competence at all times.

Back then, resilience was a synonym for strength like a mighty Oak, capable of weathering even the strongest storms.

It was an innate state, I had lots of it and it needed no nurturing.

By the end of March, I’d reached breaking point and my resilience had worn out.

I’ve since learned that the etymology of resilient has totally changed my perception of it.

From the latin verb resilire:

Combining Salire (jump), with Re (back)

In chemistry, resilient materials are those that can adapt to their environment and maintain their functionality even under stressful conditions.

Concrete, steel and stone are examples, as are rubber and spider silk. Some endure pressure better than others and all of them lose their integrity over time and much more quickly if they aren’t kept in good condition.

In humans, our ability to do the above (& continue to be able to) is as a consequence of our habits and choices. Not just to the stresses and strains that come our way, but the little things we do every day.

In my experience both personal and in what I see in my work these days, selfcare is usually the first thing to be sacrificed on the alter of busy. Not just the fitness classes,

walks, runs or yoga that we love to do, but the little things like drinking enough water, decent food at during the day, fresh air, proper screen-free breaks between tasks and meetings.

It's easy to confuse endurance for resilience and think that because we can take it now that we’ll always be able to but if we don’t stop to recharge, everyone runs out of steam at some point.

It comes down to prioritising and making sure we don’t totally neglect ourselves in process of delivering against targets & deadlines.

Digitalisation and remote working have been great for productivity but horrific for being able to easily disconnect!

Easier said than done though so I’ve found and adapted method to help take stock of where we have been unconsciously focussing our time and energy and then to consciously decide where we should be – to make it an active choice that we have some agency over.

I call it a life wheel….

Take care,

James

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