Rolling With the Punches, Part 2

If battling against the odds, or even just facing off against a grueling challenge, it’s important to contemplate our strategy. What defines our success against hardship? Is it our overcoming of it? Is surviving hardship success, or is success in how we survive it?

Our composition in the face of adversity may determine our composition in the aftermath of adversity. As expressed here by UNC-Chapel Hill’s Healthy Heels, resolving to raise our arms in defense of the pummeling to come simply isn’t enough. We cannot combat hardships like exhaustion and burnout merely by accepting them in our day to day. Surviving a pummeling shouldn’t be our definition of success.

In this episode of the Nurse Podcast Channel, host Charlene Platon and Dr. Paula Milone-Nuzzo discuss the ongoing struggle of cultivating resilience among the nation's weary hospital workers. Acknowledging hardship and maintaining relationships all go a long way in the development of resilience.

The mental wellness platform Psych2Go depicts easy strategies for developing and growing our resilience in this video. It is crucial that we not confuse endurance with resilience. While the ability to take a punch might seem admirable, the skill to maneuver and counter is more useful. That’s how we walk away from the struggle in one piece, with our noses and smiles intact.

Today, consider a challenge in our lives. Contemplate on how not to put up with that challenge, but on what skills we might learn to lessen its impact on our lives. Step vigilantly onto the field of battle with guile and wit—not in a blind rush towards upraised swords.

“What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.”
- Sun Tzu