15 Comments
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Caroline Beuley's avatar

Love this!! Sometimes we’re not bent out of shape, but bent into the right shape!

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

That’s so true and thank you @Caroline Beuley !

Allowing ourselves to have a little elasticity and flexibility can really help us weather the winds

Daniela Grothe's avatar

Resilience can be trained.

I went quite some miles along that journey… and I know how impressive that is. == Bert (don’t miss Eleni‘s masterpiece, Mark!)

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

It's a really interesting naunce you're calling out there Daniela and a wonderful extension.

So, in the context purely of this piece, and I'll be popping over to say hello to Eleni soon as well...

Often when people talk about training resilience, they are thinking or meaning an increase in tolerance. Tolerance for strain as an example.

or

You can train a muscle to recover faster

You can practice naming a tension before it becomes something more

You can learn the body’s early warning signs.

Resilience, however, is more about remembering shape.

Less a skill and more a memory.

Remembering the times when you bent, lasted longer than you thought you could, and yet somehow came back without cracking.

Daniela Grothe's avatar

Both somewhat true. However, perseverance might be a better word for just walking through a bad situation, holding on until things get better, without the bending.

Well, after all, there's only so much a metaphor can tell us anyway.

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Exactly, and to extend it just slightly and in answer, metaphors for me, are like balloons.

They can be stretched, squeezed, pressure tested, deflated, etc

But at some point, the boundaries and edges will burst.

In fact I have a whole (other) practice on balloons and the fun you can have with them :)

Mahmoud Owies's avatar

🫶🫶🫶🫶

You're amazing every day… except Friday.

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Thanks Mahmoud!

Am I even better on Fridays then?

Mahmoud Owies's avatar

Confusingly yes

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

😄 🤣 😂

Likewise Captain!

Daniela Grothe's avatar

*thinking about changing posting day*

Won’t, though. You both are the best! Except from that Bart thing…

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Ohh - I would never have enough time or mental bandwidth to write posts daily.

Especially with a secret life over on LinkedIn to.

I think people might get a little bored too :)

That's kinda why I like Notes as well now - like post-it notes on a communal fridge on the way to grab a coffee.

You can take a look, respond if you have time, pass by if you're busy

Daniela Grothe's avatar

Äh? Bert. (Brain was thinking about Bart Simpson… 😁)

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Now you've lost me on both Bert and Bart!