“No matter how far life pushes you down, no matter
how much you hurt, you can always bounce back.”--Sheryl
Swoopes, All star basketball player, Olympic Gold Medalist
Do you ever just like the sound of a word? Resilience is a
word I’ve always liked. According to the English Dictionary it means, “The
ability of a substance or object to return to its original shape after being
bent, stretched, or pressed.” The ability to bounce back. Psychologically the
term resilience means ability
to recover
readily from illness,
depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy; the ability to recover emotionally.
My first memory of hearing and using the word resilience was
long ago when I was in my early twenties and worked in a department store
selling cosmetics. “Resilience” was stated as a benefit of using one of the
nail products that I sold at the time. Most of us think we need nail hardeners
so that fingernails will be hard and grow long. Actually nails that are too
hard will break, sometimes deep into the nail bed which can be painful. Nails
that are too soft will split or tear. What’s desirable are nails that are
resilient—flexible enough to bend slightly under pressure and bounce back into
shape without breaking or tearing.
Resilient. I liked the sound of the word. It seemed to
resonate with something inside me. I knew it was important. I also liked the
analogy of being resilient, being able to bounce back after pressure. The word
has always meant strength to me. A type of strength that bends flexes and
remains intact.
Resilience is a quality that we need these days. With the
economy, unemployment and business climate many of us are dealing with multiple
changes, career disappointments and financial setbacks. Add to that the
challenges that come along in life such as illness, death of loved ones,
divorce, job loss, family crisis’s, and the multitude of things that stress and
worry us and we all have situations we need to bounce back from.
Some people seem to take whatever life throws at them and
bounce back quickly and easily while others seem devastated at every new
predicament. What’s the difference? What
qualities help us to bounce back more quickly?
The next few blog posts will focus on how we develop
resilience.
What are your thoughts on resilience?
