Beyond Resilience to Transformation
Be sure you stand on solid ground before you stretch out your hand to grab something. [unattributed African Proverb].
Over the past few weeks, I have had opportunities to be in conversations about resiliency—from a dialogue in a circle of leaders, to a panel conversation with Black community members at the Black Business Summit to one-on-one conversations—many at the forefront of leadership and constant change are contending with what it means to withstand the winds, storms and constant headwinds we seem to be facing in an era of polycrises. As we work through a never-ending stream of wicked problems, polarities to manage, and ever-increasing complexities, stress levels and mental health are impacted.
In this context, resiliency has begun to evoke reactivity as people ask/respond to the question of resiliency with comments such as:
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I believe the problem here is the sense of being taken for granted as a result of the misunderstandings and false assumptions about resilience/resiliency. So in this post, I share key features of resilience that I often write and speak about, based on my work on Transformation after Trauma: The Power of Resonance, in which I document research and practice evidence to support the perspective that while the world needs resilient people and systems, we much more than that need personal and collective transformation in these times.
Myth: Resilience is synonymous with growth and/or transformation.
Resilience is often used in ways that conflate it with growth and transformation after adversity. However, the generally accepted definition of resilience is the ability to bounce back or return to an original level of psychological functioning after an event, incident, trauma trigger or stressor that causes some level of (di)stress or adversity. Developing resilience means the ability to make a comeback after a setback, not only about withstanding difficulties as it is often used (though this may be a dimension of resilience, it is psychological hardiness). Resilience is therefore about psychological elasticity, not necessarily about growth.
Response: Resilience is a necessary but insufficient condition for growth/transformation...see full post here...
It's refreshing to see a discussion around the need for transformation beyond resilience. What are some key strategies you've found to be effective in fostering personal and collective transformation in the face of trauma and exhaustion?
Thanks for sharing! The question I ask myself these days: Do we ever heal from trauma? and what the "healed state" can look like? I relate to every point you raised in this article.
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5moI love this quote from the article: “When faced with adversity and the ongoing hyper-stressors in the current context, we can choose our way forward. Our initial reaction to adverse events is likely to be stress and/or traumatic symptoms. This is normal. However, once we become aware of the impacts on our emotional/mental health, we can exercise our agency to choose. “ ❤️ Powerful.