Competitive or Resilient?

Competitive or resilient?  What would you pick?  What do they mean to you?  More and more resilience is all a buzz and we are hearing it everywhere, yet what does it really mean to you?

With our daughter off to college, our family navigating grief with the death of my father-in-law, our son pursuing his vision for college baseball, and the Olympics in full swing; I have found myself contemplating how the need for resilience really does creep into all aspects of our lives.  While being competitive can put you at the top of your game, I believe it is resilience that will enable sustenance and longevity—and who doesn’t want that?  Whether it’s a long, happy and healthy life; a 30 year career; starting out to accomplish your goals that will lead you to your vision; or dealing with an adverse set of circumstances…it all takes resilience.

When I hear the word competitive, I feel a sense of winning at all costs, without regard for anyone or anything along your path.  It also feels short-lived and temporary.  Competitive performances only seem sustainable for a short time.  Competitive feels external, it feels it is about being the best, rather than about being your best.

The word resilient brings me a sense of longevity and sustenance. It brings a sense of character and ability to live life’s challenges and adversities while moving forward in a healthy way.  It is about growth, and becoming better than you were before.  It is internal, it is a feeling that drives you to live with intention to be your best in every moment, making you better than you were before.

Clearly with .0000017% of the world’s population ever making it to the Olympics as an athlete (Quora), it takes much fortitude, passion, drive, and eliteness to make it.  It is said that 30% of the athletes that make it return for a second opportunity (Olympstats), and undoubtedly the percentage decreases for a third opportunity with approximately 1367 people ever being 3-time Olympians world-wide(Fandom).

It is from these repeat Olympians that I draw a sense of resilience from.  While clearly the ultimate vision is to be the world’s best, what is it that brings them back again with years of preparation in between?  I will argue it is resilience—an internal desire to be better than they personally were before—and what that “better” means to each individual is as unique as they are.  It may mean the feeling of a better result, the emotion of a medal, and for even fewer it may mean the emotion of another medal.  It may mean feeling the pride of representing your country at an elite level again, or the feeling of progressing the sport world-wide, or the feeling of coming back.  

It is the internal motivators and the feelings of success that provide everyone the competitive edge to succeed, to keep trying no matter what your vision is.

Resilience grows in everyone with the physical mastery of sleep, healthy eating, and movement/exercise.  Mindfulness, positivity, connection further develops resilience in all people who intentionally incorporate regular practices into their days.   Knowing when to rest and restore, to come back better than ever before is critical.  Individuals then need to live intentionally, on a daily basis, to create habits that continue to support and grow their resilience.  There is no end point to resilience.  It is constant growth with self-reflection to always be better and never ends.

Pick resilience for that competitive edge and produce resilient performances.  Whether you are looking for personal resilience to succeed on an individual level or are seeking organizational resilience for your business to prosper, email me at coach_char@fuelling22.org.