Roadtrips & Resilience
As a new year starts and I'm working on a new professional development focused on Resilience - I’ve been thinking a ton about my own definition of resilience. The big difference between not stopping versus never quitting. There is such a huge difference. Not stopping quickly turns to burnout, exhaustion and loss of passion. Instead, never quitting means there may be times I need to pause, or redirect, or refuel before bouncing back. This definition of never quitting means I may need to change things completely but it keeps me motivated, learning, and growing.
Think about it. If we decided on a cross country drive together. Say leaving California and driving to New York. If our mindset was not stopping - how far do you think we could make it without stopping for fuel, sleep, or food. Could we do it? What if we decided from the get go that we are only driving one highway and not taking any detours. What if we stopped at the first closed road or detour - just stopped in our tracks, not going any farther. Would we leave without having google maps, having insurance, or our phone to call someone if we were to break down? What if we didn’t stop to enjoy the scenery or eat at a local diner, not even stop to take pictures for the memories. Would we be constantly comparing ourselves to every other driver on the road? Worrying that the other vehicles are driving faster and start comparing ourselves. Making ourselves feel terrible because they pass us. Think about our exhaustion if we never stopped. How far could we really make it before we burned out?
Instead, we set out on the trip knowing that we need sleep, food (good food - not just the gas station food, though I’ll always take a Chester’s Fried potato log). We know we’ll need to refuel and rest. No way we could make our trip if we didn’t refuel or pause to sleep - we would burn out. Not questioning the detour that takes us around a closed road or construction. We keep going. These things are not causing us to quit the drive rather increasing the possibility of seeing something grand. Having our phone with directions and all the numbers of people we could call if we got tired, wanted to catch up, have a flat, or to share the excitement of the journey. No competition on the road - no road rage but being a friendly driver. Letting others merge in front of us or driving in the right lane when we aren’t passing. Not comparing ourselves to these faster drivers - instead staying content in our own lane while having gratitude for the moment. Most importantly, we would take the time to enjoy the scenery, learn about the small towns that reduce the speed limit, take in the local culture, and broaden our horizons.
Life and the goals we have in it are cross country drives. Our mindset must be one of never quitting verses the impossible expectation of never stopping.
See you out there - on the road of life! 😎
