Resilience. The word has been on my mind a lot lately, and is something I think we don’t talk enough about in the workplace. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines resilience as “the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” To me,
being resilient is like building a muscle; it is something that you need to practice, and the more you do, the easier it becomes.
But how do you build that muscle? Do you immediately take action to overcome the misfortune or change, or do you sit with it and analyze your options before doing anything? I don’t believe there is a right or wrong answer, but as I look back on my career, both in the corporate world and as a business owner, I tend to act more than sit.
"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity."
A few quotes have stuck with me as I think about my professional career. The quote above is from Amelia Earhart and reminds me of what one of my favorite leaders told me during an annual review when I worked in the corporate communication department of a Fortune 100 company. They said I was, “enterprising and tenacious to a fault,” and that rather than always having the impulse to act, sometimes I need to just “roll over and let the feeling pass.”
I took that advice to heart because it’s true; sometimes the best thing is not to act, but rather to sit in the feeling and let it pass. The act of doing nothing is a critical aspect to building resiliency; it’s OK to move on and be fine, be happy, and be whole just by letting go of certain things.
Practicing building the muscle of holding back my tenacious tendencies was worthwhile, helping me mature and grow professionally. But it was often an inner struggle and after a period of time, I realized that given my enterprising and tenacious nature, the time had come for me NOT to roll over and let things pass, but rather move on to another place where my enterprising energy and tenacity was more appreciated and embraced.
Being tenacious builds resiliency
Looking back, that decision to act at that moment, to move onto the next chapter of my professional life, paid off. It led me to launching and building my business, which is something I had always wanted to do.
Owning a business, winning projects, placing talent and serving clients takes resilience and tenacity. Some days are great, but many, especially when first starting out, are not. There are roadblocks, challenges and lots of “nos” along the way that can dash hopes and spread discouragement, but anyone who owns a business knows you have just got to hold on and keep flying the plane.
Without resilience, I’m not sure where I’d be.
When I decided to take the step, leave my corporate job and start a business, a lot of stress melted away. Sure, there was a different kind of stress—the stress of the unknown and launching a business, but many of the stresses inherent within the corporate world were gone. I woke up every morning, put one foot in front of the other, and did the things I needed to do to feed my enterprising mind, lean into my strengths, and identify a market niche that’s a natural fit for me.
Luckily, seven years later, I’m still at it and I know my tenacity and resilience have played a huge role in that. I’m incredibly grateful for the business I have built and all the supporters along the way. And I also thank Amelia Earhart for the quote, and my favorite leader in my corporate communications role for dispensing the advice to roll over and let the feeling pass. I keep both in mind as I continue to take steps in my business and toward my goals.
What about you? How has the decision to act played a role in your career?
If you need to act to build up your corporate communications team on a short-term basis, please reach out. I’d love to help.
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