How are some people able to bounce back from overwhelming adversity? Do resilient people eat Wheaties every morning, pump up their Air Jordan’s, and throw down spinach like Popeye? Or do they possess some internal superpower that propels them past life’s greatest adversities?
I liken the concept of resilience to a simple mantra I picked up while in the Marine Corps:
“Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome”
The Marines have spoken and lived this mantra throughout history. Being the smallest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, they’ve received the most hand-me-downs from other branches and have therefore been forced to do more with less. Poorly equipped as they are at times, they remain one of the toughest, most resilient elite fighting forces in the world.
Being a Marine veteran, I can attest to the effectiveness of the above mantra. It’s how I managed to thrive during three tours to the heat-stricken Middle East. However, my idea of resilience is quickly overshadowed by the WWI Marines of Belleau Wood in 1918.
Those Marines fought for days straight – while wounded, sleepless, poorly equipped, and with little intelligence to go off of. Oh yeah, and they faced a barrage of enemy machine-gun fire. Yet, they adapted and remained fierce, eventually overcoming the Germans and holding their ground.
Defining Resilience
The American Psychological Association (APA) defines resilience as “…the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or even significant sources of stress — such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressors. It means “bouncing back” from difficult experiences.”
To elaborate…
Shit happens to us every day. One moment, we’re coasting through life anticipating positive change. The next, we’re having grand mal seizures, getting tubes put in inhumane places and losing our ability to drive for the next six months. Then, just when life is going swell again, a tidal wave of crap comes our way again.
Your girlfriend wants a breakup. You got fired from your job. Your best friend has cancer. A hit-and-run driver clipped your side mirror. Your friend shaved your head while you were passed out drunk. I know what you’re thinking… Some of those are much more severe than the others. Well, here’s the truth. That’s just how things work out sometimes.
Adversity is a part of life, plain and simple. It can be forecasted or entirely unexpected. Even if you plan things “to the T,” Murphy’s Law is bound to step in at some point and surprise you. It’s just part of the rollercoaster of life.
When these things happen, they can either become this negative part of who we are or they can become valuable life lessons. In short, they can make or break you. The difference between the two, though, is where resilience comes in.
My First Lessons in Resilience as a Marine
Yours truly… Roughing it at Camp Pendleton in ’02…
Though I never had to charge through the Black Forest against a barrage of enemy machine gun fire, I do remember some of my early lessons in resilience as a young Marine. The first lesson – the one that mentally prepared me for my first deployment – was Marine Corps boot camp. This is the place where I went in as a boy and came out as a man. It’s where I was broken down to a pile of nothingness, stripped of all labels and ego, and rebuilt as a lean, mean fighting machine.
I remember the first couple weeks being a living nightmare – drill instructors always in my face, always rushing around, losing my hair, being chronically tired and worn out, having only minutes to scarf down a meal, duck walking around the squad bay with a rifle over my head – a cycle that continued for at least three months. During the process, though, a transformation occurred. In pushing my body beyond its physical and mental limits, I learned how to quickly adapt to rapidly changing circumstances and do more with less.
The ultimate test of my resilience came toward the end of boot camp when it was time for the Crucible. Imagine 54 hours of field exercises, combat simulations, teamwork challenges, and 48 miles of marching (steep uphill marching at the end) on nothing but 8 hours of total sleep and 3 MREs (meals-ready-to-eat). That was the Crucible.
You want to see grown men cry? That’s the place. Not that I’ll ever admit to crying… However, that’s where I – and thousands of my Marine brothers – proved that we are capable of improvising, adapting, and ultimately, overcoming. That is where we learned what resilience really was.
The Importance of Resilience
Do you want to be happier?
The following 2009 study, based on the broaden-and-build theory, shows that there is a direct correlation between life satisfaction and resilience in tandem with positive emotion. Life satisfaction, in this case, is a core component of an individual’s happiness. This suggests that if you build your resilience, you generate good feelings, which in turn helps you develop more resilience, thereby creating more good feelings and so on. To quote from the above article: “…happy people become more satisfied not simply because they feel better, but because they develop resources for living well.”
There are numerous potential short- and long-term benefits to building resilience in your life, but here’s a good list to pique your curiosity:
- Stronger appreciation for life
- Closer relationships
- Greater physical and mental strength
- Increased productivity
- Increased physical and mental performance
- Better chances for workplace promotions
- Ability to find creative solutions amidst ambiguity
- Ability to cope with challenging life situations
- People can depend on you (being the “rock”)
- Greater ability to capitalize on new opportunities
- Learn from your mistakes faster
- Greater financial success
- Greater success in the dating scene
- More considerable willpower
Now that you’ve got the down-low on resilience and why it’s important, it’s time to make yourself more resilient. In Part 2 of this article, we’ll do exactly that. I’ll show you how resiliency is like combat readiness and reveal some useful skills that will help you improvise, adapt, and overcome.
For now, stay tuned and share this article if you thought it was badass!
