The dictionary defines resilience as an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.
Every person has to deal with failures or losses, they are an inevitable part of life. These setbacks may be minor or dreadful. The result and psychological impact depends on how we deal with these misfortunes not knowing where it will end. Resilient people don't avoid life's hard knocks; they confront and bounce back, survive and flourish.
Why am I so resilient? I have analyzed myself, even though I am not a sociologist … how am I able to get so many hits and bounce back over and over… I do believe, your environment makes you resilient.
Thinking about my past I realized that my experiences as a child were diminutive in comparison to the stories that I have encountered in my adulthood. However, I would like to share what I believe is one of the reasons.
As a result of a small accident, when I was 8 years old I lost movement of my right elbow. I had several surgeries but was never able to regain complete extension. As result I was left with a "frankenstein" looking arm.
At the age of 10 here I am, my body has no balance and looks more like a crab with one small and one large claw. At this point I had two options on how to react to my new reality, either hiding and becoming an introvert or come out stronger saying this will not impact who I am. So I chose to become more of an extrovert and laugh at my situation as opposed to being teased at.
An incredible person that I admire is Nick Vujicic, he was born without arms and legs but did not allow that to stop him from becoming an author, motivational speaker, music producer, entrepreneur and more. This is a part of his bio from LIFE WITHOUT LIMBS: Throughout his childhood, Nick dealt not only with the typical challenges of school and adolescence such as bullying and self-esteem issues; but also struggled with depression and loneliness. He constantly questioned why he was different than all the other kids surrounding him; why he was the one born without arms and legs. He wondered what the purpose behind his life was, or if he even had a purpose. According to Nick, the victory over his struggles throughout his journey, as well as the strength and passion he has for life can be credited to his faith in God. His family, friends and the many people he has encountered along the way have also encouraged him… there is a purpose in each of the struggles we each encounter in our lives, and that our attitude towards those struggles, along with our faith and trust in the Lord can be the keys to overcoming the challenges we face.
Nick has an incredible attitude, resilience and self-esteem, and has a great mantra… "If I fail I try again, again and again and it is not the end. What matters is how you are going to finish… are you going to finish strong?
Resilience is the ability to confront stressful, difficult and sometimes devastating situations by attacking the adversity head on! To have the strength to pull oneself together to overcome the unimaginable! Resilience seems to be related to confidence, independence, flexibility and optimism.
At the age of 10, I decided to become a person with a great confidence and attitude and tell the world here I am. Individual resilience is closely related to our personal sense of security or how comfortable we feel about ourselves.
At the end many people never realized that I could not move my arm, my attitude and resilience overpowered my problem.
Why was I so concerned?