Resilience.

We’ve come to identify this word with those who have overcome insurmountable obstacles — those who go to war, women who have made an impact in their tyrant-controlled countries, people who have survived terminal diseases.
It’s the Malala’s, the Oprah’s and the Stephen Hawking’s of the world.

These people are undoubtedly and absolutely resilient.
But they don’t hold an exclusive on this attribute.

Although it has become somewhat of a cliche within a matter of months, 2020 has definitely tested our abilities to overcome and adapt. No matter who it is — the corporate leader who had to adjust to working from home, the parent who had to become a stand-in teacher overnight, the student who had to come to terms with their school year being completely virtual — are all undergoing trials we never thought we’d see.

And resilience can be found in every single one of these journeys.

This is not to say that “toughing it out” should be romanticized — that’s not where resilience is found in. In the words of Brene Brown, resilience is found in one’s “tolerance for discomfort.”

It’s the ability to accept and maybe even embrace uncertainty and all of the emotions it brings in with its tide.
It’s the control of one’s thoughts when things are unthinkable.
It’s knowing how to use an unprecedented time as the foundation for a new precedent.

Like many things, being resilient is not a check box.  It is a practice that calls to be cultivated. It’s not something one becomes  overnight — it requires a reconstruction of mindset. This new mindset will naturally be reflected into all of your daily routines, relationships, and most importantly, your leadership.

Whether you’re the leader of a household or a Fortune 500 company, ask yourself these three questions:

What level of energy do I want to give to my professional goals?
What level of energy do I want to give to my personal goals?
What level of energy do I want to give to my physical goals?

At LeadStyle, it has been our practice to ask our high performers to evaluate what level of energy they ideally want to put into not just one of these areas, but all three.  Why?  Because resilient leadership relies on knowing, understanding and taking action on the right balance for you at this time.  As times change, that balance changes, and that’s what we are dealing with now.  It is what is driving our deeper questions of purpose and meaning.

Once you know what you want, you begin to implement the actions needed to keep them in balance. This is living your leadership lifestyle.

We think we have to shake things up and change an entire system.  But notice: when we first prioritize what matters to us and understand why, we can achieve sustainable resilience with something simple.  An incisive strike if you will. In a way, that’s part of the beauty of it – its simplicity.

LeadStyle client, the VP of Strategic Finance for a nationally renowned medical establishment, was experiencing the weight of the pandemic both in his work and at home. He realized that the energy he was putting into his personal health was being outweighed by the time being put into his professional and physical goals.

This sparked the beginning of his relationship with the practice of meditation.

Because of this simple change he implemented into his daily life, he feels that he can keep his peace no matter what obstacle is thrown his way; becoming more and more resilient each time he is faced with uncertainty. The results were not only beneficial to his mental health — it equipped him with the mentality to succeed in his professional and physical goals as well. He feels that “it is the one thing keeping (him) sane while (he) deals with one crisis after another”.