What Is Resilience?

Resilience can be considered a foundational characteristic of success. It has to do with adaptability, the utilization of resources, and community. As we build resilience in community, we develop a shared sense of identity, values, and direction.

Resilience is all around us. So, what is it?

Resilience is the ability to “bounce back” in the face of challenges, to “stand strong” in the midst of wear and tear, to adapt when needed, and to flourish regardless of the circumstances.

The American Psychological Association defines resilience as

successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences through flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.

Do you see how meaning tethers resilience? I only adapt if I have a sense of meaning that is deeper than whatever challenge or pressure placed upon me.

Resilience Building

Resilience looks different for each individual and for each community. History, culture, support, and the resources available all play a role in how resilience is formed, developed, and demonstrated. Diversity in the skills, networks, and capacities we cultivate can contribute positively to our overall resilience.

A helpful image in discussing resilience building might be a wheel. We picture a round form on the outside, with several spokes supporting it. If a specific spoke or group of spokes is weak (or attacked, say by a natural disaster or an unjust policy), the wheel is distorted and unable to function properly. However, the strength of the spokes around these weaker areas can help carry the wheel along its path, for a time. By caring for, reinforcing, and investing in the weaker spokes, the wheel is restored to wholeness and can resume its full functioning again. When this restoration happens, we must remember that the spokes that were compensating for the weaker area may need some tender-loving care to be rebuilt as well.

Taking a holistic view of resilience reminds us that continual care in all areas has a greater impact than singular focus on a specific weakness or strength. Again, picturing the wheel, if we only thought about the weak spokes, we might restore them and even transform them into the strongest part of the wheel, but if we don’t circle back to reinforce the other spokes, those areas could quickly become a new weakness. Focusing too much on a single area creates a lopsided wheel just as neglecting weaknesses can. As capacity builders, we want to be careful not to create new weaknesses, but instead work at the pace required to maintain balance and consistency.

Principles that Develop Resilience

At the Resilient Communities Center, we have a set of principles and practices that help anchor us in a holistic mindset. It is our hope that by keeping each of these principles and practices in mind, we can cultivate resilience and build capacities amongst our team, communities, and training program participants. These principles and practices form the wheel within which we operate:

Like a wheel, these principles are inseparable from one another and add strength to the whole. We define these principles from which we problem solve and build capacity as Community, Empowerment, Incarnation, Integration, Spiritual Formation, and Transformation. What carries these forward are practices of Discipleship and Development.

In future blog posts, we will unpack each of our principles and practices to create a deeper understanding of how they weave together to promote resilience.

What principles and practices, or values and priorities, does your organization, household, or community hold? Do you see any gaps in your wheel of resilience that need to be filled? Any weaknesses that are creating hindrances to your flourishing? What are the strengths that are currently shouldering the burden as other areas develop?

Our team of trained mentors and facilitators would be honored to walk with you or your team through identifying and reinforcing values that grow resilience in the spaces you inhabit and in the goals establish. Let us know how we can support you.