Resilience — A Personality Trait Or An Optimistic Vision?

The ability to fight and recover from challenging circumstances has been a research topic in human psychology for years. One of these researches is known as the ‘Resilience Theory’.

Norman Garmezy, the founder of the Resilience theory, defines resilience as “not necessarily impervious to stress. Rather, resilience is designed to reflect the capacity for recovery and maintained adaptive behavior that may follow initial retreat or incapacity upon initiating a stressful event”.

Michael Rutter famously known as the father of child psychology, defines resilience as “An interactive concept concerned with the combination of serious risk experiences and a relatively positive psychological outcome despite those experiences.”

I derive the motivation of this article from the book — “The Stoic Challenge” by William B. Irvine. Chapter 3 of the book talks about resilience. In this chapter, William has provided a brief on the life of some resilient beings who have fought through great adversities and demonstrated the true spirit of human life.

Bethany Hamilton

Bethany Hamilton started surfing at the age of 7. By the age of 13, she won many surfing competitions and had official sponsorship. She was on the way to becoming a pro surfer as well. On October 31, 2003, she went surfing on the coast of Kauai. Bethany used her left hand to balance in the calm waters hoping for a wave when a shark bit off her left arm below the shoulders.

I have never surfed my whole life and can’t even imagine doing it with both hands. On the other hand, Bethany surfed 26 days after the attack with only one hand. She returned to competitive surfing in less than two years and won the National Scholastic Surfing Association National Championship.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was a film critic for Chicago Sun-Times. In 2002, he was diagnosed with salivary cancer. He fought cancer twice and then survived damage to the carotid artery seven times. As a result of cancer and numerous surgeries to the carotid artery, he lost speaking ability. The reconstructive surgery done on his jaw left him looking like a cartoon, all set for stand-up comedy (pun intended).

Roger could only speak with the help of a computer synthesizer. During a TED talk, he asked his wife and friends to deliver his speech so that the audience didn’t fall asleep hearing the computer voice. His talk was full of hilarious hands and facial gestures at his own expense. Yes, he made it look a stand-up skit.

I cannot add more praise to his life because his TED talk is an excellent testament to his resilient spirit.

Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig was an American professional baseball player known for his prowess as a hitter. He earned the name of the ‘The Iron House’ for his efforts on the field. He hit 493 home runs in his illustrious career.

In 1939, although he was a distinguishable athlete in the Baseball Hall of Fame, his hand-eye coordination and power-hitting were not at his best. He was struggling with his hitting and running capabilities. Gehrig benched himself as he saw his talent fade away. He got a standing ovation for this gesture, ending his 2130 consecutive games journey.

On June 19, 1939, when Lou turned 36, he was diagnosed with ALS. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. On July 4, 1939, also known as Lou Gehrig appreciation day, he delivered a farewell speech where he called himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I quote:

Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

There wasn’t an ounce of a complaint or regret during or after his playing career. Something our modern-day athletes can learn from. It’s easy to blame others for your failures, but it takes a lot of guts to be equanimous during highs and lows.

Conclusion

I don’t want this article to be a never-ending saga of all the personalities mentioned in this chapter by William. The objective is clear, though. We are blessed to be breathing and alive, and it’s enough to celebrate the present.

Although contrary to the evidence present online, I won’t call resilience a personality trait. I feel the hormonal composition of our body determines the level of resilience. People dealing with mental health issues could find it very tough to be resilient but the three personalities I have talked about above had many reasons to be depressed, but they chose not to. In the end, it all comes down to being thankful for being alive. It’s an everyday reminder to ourselves. I hope this article has enough content to motivate you all for 2022.

Thanks

Tarun

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