Resiliency: Bouncing Back Instead of Falling Flat

By Brendan Epps

Resiliency is key to our overall wellness.  It’s our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical buoyancy in times of stress and adversity.  The dictionary defines resilience as:  “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.”^[1]  In life, we all have challenges.  The misfortune whether it’s a rough day, forgetting something important, or a traumatic life event.  Between natural disasters and disastrous interactions around the world, our resiliency is paramount.

Get Back Up

There’s a Japanese proverb about resilience that says, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.”  If we don’t fall down, we may be knocked down, but let’s resolve to get back up: slow or fast, get back up.  It’s easier to get back up by bouncing back and recovering quickly instead of falling flat and dwelling on the adversity.

Ways to be Resilient

Part of resilience is the internal drive that pushes us through obstacles and helps us to face challenges head on.  Another aspect is training ourselves to be mentally flexible, learning how to adjust and adapt.  For example, when things don’t go our way, flexibility helps us to see other possibilities.  Sometimes those possibilities are just as good.  Mental flexibility is similar to physical flexibility.  Where physical flexibility increases our range of motion--such as moving our arms in different directions--mental flexibility increases our understanding.  Some ways the Y increases our resiliency are:

• Exercise - You don’t have to run a marathon, but get your body moving
• Positive Associations - The Y can be one of your happy places
• Network of Supportive People - Uplifting each other
• Safe Environment - Peace of mind for kids, parents, and a sense of community for all members

Stronger, More Resilient Together

One of the things that makes the YMCA a source of resilience is family!  With a Y membership, you don’t just join a gym, you become part of a family.  The bonds and friendships make fitness fun, whether it’s boot camp, Zumba, or HIIT.  And, we encourage each other to grab goals and push past excuses.  Supporting each other can be contagious, spreading throughout the Y network.  When you take that support with you into your workplace, school, or neighborhood, you're helping even more people to ‘get back up’ from their challenges, too.