Resilience is futile. Welcome yo part one of my series on resilience and why its a misused concept that does more damage than good.
This post is NOT a cry for help or a cue for people to crawl out of the woodwork in pretend concern. We are fine, we always are, because that’s what we do. This post is to make YOU think about #whatyoudontsee and to ask people to learn and think beyond what social media, society, institutions and generational concepts tell us or what we assume.
What is resilience?
“Resilience is the psychological quality that allows some people to be knocked down by the adversities of life and come back at least as strong as before”
Should we aspire to be resilient, always, and never admit that sometimes bending til you almost break is actually a broken concept?
Do we admire those who seem so resilient that no matter what life throws at them, they keep plodding on, or do we stand distant from them, because somehow their “strength” makes them feel like they don’t need us?
Do we listen when the people we think are most resilient start to talk about how tired they are, and that they need support?
Do we make an idol of resilience?
Are we proud to be seen as always pulling back from the edge, never slipping over it, even if that’s by the skin of our teeth?
Has society told us that we aren’t allowed to be anything but resilient?
Resilience is misunderstood, misused, manipulated, mansplained, misplaced and we have put it on a pedestal that we enjoy watching people try to climb and fall from.
Ask me how I know? 😉