Note to self on resilience
Some bend. Others break. And some turn their wounds into weapons and keep walking.
Dear Nicholas,
Whatever situation you find yourself in right now, one thing I know for sure is that you are not the first person to be there. I also know that not everyone who went through your current situation had the same outcome. Some bend. Others break. And some turn their wounds into weapons and keep walking. The difference is your level of resilience.
Resilience is not the same thing as strength. Strength is lifting a weight once. Resilience is lifting it again and again, even when your arms tremble and your mind screams, “enough.”
"Resilience is not pretending you're not in pain. It's showing up anyway."
Life won’t always ask if you’re ready before it tests you. Sometimes it just shows up uninvited, unannounced, with a loss, a delay, a disappointment wrapped in silence. And when it does, your response will either grow you or grind you.
The way out is not to pretend you're not in pain. That's not resilience. It is to acknowledge the pain and decide to show up anyway.
I’ve met people who’ve lost everything except their will to try again. That will? It’s sacred. Don’t joke with it.
Maybe you’ve been hit so hard you don’t recognise yourself anymore. Maybe your plans are now ashes, and hope feels like a fairy tale. But as long as you’re still breathing, you’re not done. You’re just in the process.
"Don’t rush to escape the fire; some gold is only forged by flame."
Resilience may not be glamorous. It doesn’t always look like victory. Sometimes it looks like crawling, whispering prayers through tears, and saying, “Lord, help me try again tomorrow.”
But let me tell you: as long as you don’t quit, you are not late. And you are not lost.
Hold the line.
You will rise.
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