Are You Resilient?
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How many of you out there remember those old Timex watch commercials with John Cameron Swayze? You know the ones, right? Here’s the scene:
A car careens out of control, drives off a 1,000-foot cliff, plummets to the bottom, smashes into a thousand pieces - and finally bursts into flames. Mr. Swayze saunters out from behind a convenient boulder, picks a watch out of the rubble, looks straight into the camera and calmly says the punch line, “Timex. It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.” Or something.
Yup; no matter what they went through, those babies always kept ticking. I’m tellin’ ya folks; that was one resilient watch!
So my question for you today is a simple one. Are you resilient? It’s a question that might be more important than you think.
The Bell Tolls… for Trees
Over the last week or so, much of the Houston-Galveston area has been in recovery mode from Mother Nature’s hissy fit that will forever be known as Hurricane Ike. As of this writing, power has been restored to about 75% of the 2.5 million homes and businesses in the area that were shut down during the storm.
The gentle and loving caress of about a zillion chain saws has seen many of the downed trees reduced to rows of organic trash, neatly stacked along our city streets. In some cases, it’s stacked so high and long it resembles a new Great Wall. Sad to think about all the trees that will no longer grace our skylines. (Luckily, we can afford to spare a few - the city still has lots of its green canopy left.)
Power at our home was out for only about 5 days, and by God’s grace we suffered no damage at all, despite the 80 to 90 mph (129-145 kph) winds that passed over our area. So you won’t hear any complaints from me! To tell you the truth, what Mrs. MZM and I experienced is, on the larger scale, fairly insignificant. Some spots, like Bolivar Peninsula or the western end of Galveston Island, were literally wiped off the map.
I say there was no damage, but of course our landscaping was rearranged a mite. Luckily we’re in the newer section of the neighborhood, which of course means very few large trees. Although we love trees, in this case the lack of them was a blessing; we didn’t get any of the fallen ones in (and in one spectacular case, through) our roof like some of the other, older sections did.
They Take a Licking and Keep on - Growing
There was evidence of high winds everywhere, though. Take our banana plants, for instance. We only planted them last year, and for awhile they remained basically a few sticks in the ground. But as you may or may not know, once banana plants get going, they pretty much grow like weeds. However, we wanted that “tropical jungle” look, so we were happy with it. In fact, some of the larger ones were nearly 15 feet high at the tip of the highest leaves.
Alas, the storm’s winds knocked down four of our larger ones, broke about half the remaining leaves, and badly shredded virtually every banana leaf above the top of the fence. What were once smooth green leaves now look like long stems with green fringe.
At one point during the storm, Mrs. MZM even called me to the window (yes, it was a protected one) and pointed out how the trees and bushes were literally corkscrewing around and around. It was as if miniature tornadoes were playing with each one (come to think of it, that may actually have been the case). Yet in spite of that somewhat cavalier treatment, most of our plants survived just fine.
Amazingly, what’s left of the bananas are still green, and new leaves are already popping out with abandon. It’s that resiliency again - an essential ingredient for survival. Ya know; ya gotta admire that kind of strength, don’t you?
For instance; take a look at this photo. This particular banana plant is nearly 6 inches in diameter and, er, was one of the largest ones in the yard. Unfortunately, right above this point the wind folded it over the back fence and into the neighbor’s yard, so I had to chop it off about 4 feet above the ground.
Two Kinds of Strength
See that white stalk coming out of the top of the stump? Believe it or not, this photo was taken less than 24 hours after I cut the trunk off. That stalk is how much has already grown! Amazing, isn’t it? I’ll tell ya, I’m not bothered. The fact is, you can’t keep a banana plant down, no matter what you do to the danged things. Those babies just keep on comin’ back!
And therein, my friends, lies a great lesson in life.
There’s a kind of strength that reflects an inability to be moved. Think of a large boulder sitting in the midst of a raging river. No matter what that river throws at it, it simply won’t be moved. Impressive, eh?
But there’s also a kind of strength that only comes from being able to flex and move. Ancient shipbuilders knew this. When they went searching for a tall, straight trunk with which to make their ships’ masts, they didn’t look for trees that had grown up in protected areas.
No, they went to the tops of mountains, the rocky crags where the winds blew the strongest. There were the trees that had flexed with the wind and weathered the storms - yet still grew tall and straight. Those were the masts that would most likely remain upright and keep a ship safe, no matter what the sea threw at it.
And it’s a strength that’s not obvious, either. As Mrs. MZM and I rode around the neighborhood on our cycles, observing the damage, we noticed many of the trees that had fallen were actually partially hollow inside. Or, the root systems weren’t very deep. Both conditions made the trees far more vulnerable to high winds.
But - and here’s the crux of the matter - there was no way to tell ahead of time. It took a really big storm to reveal the truth and demonstrate which of the trees was truly resilient enough.
Once Again, With Feeling
Again, I ask you the question: Are you resilient?
Are you the kind of person who recovers easily from setbacks? Do you have this kind of inner strength? Would you consider this to be a natural gift, or is it something we can all learn? What would you say is the best way to develop it? And, for extra bonus points (if you dare), ask your friends if they think you’re resilient. Ask them for examples. You may (or may not) be surprised.
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25 responses so far
Middle Zone Musings is a comfortable place to stop, have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. I don't ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Have a seat, take a load off, and relax...
After surviving seven days without power during a snow and ice storm, I declared, “I don’t do hardship well.” But, we all do hardship. It’s part of life. I think what has helped me get through some of life’s toughest moments is to say to myself: “This has happened because there’s something I haven’t learned yet.” And sure enough, I could see that from a difficult situations I needed more patience, or tolerance or understanding. Or, sometimes I just needed to learn not to sweat the small stuff and to be grateful for all the blessings I had in my life. Has every bump in the road been easy or fun? No. But have they taught me something valuable? You bet. If that’s resilience, then I guess I’ve got it.
Howdy, Anita. Resiliency is one of those things, like faith, that we really don’t know we have - until we’ve demonstrated it. And no, it’s rarely fun to go through, either. But once past, we may find ourselves noticeably stronger for the experience.
I’ve pointed out before how Mrs. MZM and I have moved over 60 times since we’ve been married. It sounds like an exaggeration but I assure you it’s not. Every time, we say to ourselves, “Wow, what a pain! That’s the last time we do THAT!” but then… well.
Time is the essential element in growth, and we do well to allow it to work, eh, Anita? Hey, thanks for the comment!
Hi Robert, Thank you for that historical tidbit about trees and ancient shipbuilders. I love learning things like that. Usually I do OK handling adversity, which makes we wonder why I worry about it so much sometimes. For example, with regard to the financial crisis, I worry about what will happen if things go really bad and we tumble into a depression. But you know, even if it happens, we’ll probably be ok, at least in the ways that matter. I need to start thinking like a banana plant!
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Why Business Blogs Should Welcome Negative Comments
What a great question. As you say Bob resilience is something you usually don’t know you have until it is tested - or pointed out. After we lost my in-laws within weeks of each other with the enormous sadness and adjustments that brought I was spending some time with a good pal and she said that she admired the way I have been throughout but that as I was a “strong woman” that really was no surprise. I was shocked. I never thought of myself that way. It does not do to compare ourselves to others but I could hold up great examples of people who bend with the wind and weather the storms and seem to come out even stronger.
And to follow up Brad’s comment I used to worry about many many things - most of which were out of my control. I don’t know when I learned to manage that better but boy to do I feel the benefit! That banana plant image will stick in my mind too.
Jackie Camerons last blog post..Young employees and social networking -using the best skills for the job
Bob, I think resilience is something we can learn - partly by learning to admire and value it, so thanks for this post
In the organisation where I used to work, bad stuff happened nearly all the time. People got scorched, burned out, damaged by it. After a while I realised that none of us could stop the bad stuff happening - all we could do was learn the art of resilience.
Which might include self-care, humour, not working too hard, not taking things too seriously, not seeing your job/career as the be all and end all… and often in my experience putting ‘getting through the day intact’ on your to do list.
It meant you focused each day on things that would help *you* to walk away, or keep on growing.
I guess that’s what the banana plant thinks to itself too.
By the way Brad that was one of the best lines I’ve read in a comment box for a while: “I need to start thinking like a banana plant” Priceless
Joanna Youngs last blog post..Confident Writing Is a Top 10 Writing Blog
Since I try to practice the traits of stress-hardy, resilient people, I obviously agree that resilience can be learned.
The main purpose of teaching stress management and writing my Transforming Stress blog is to make sure I remember to practice what I preach. At least one person, me, always gets something out of my classes and posts.
It means when adversity happens I’m never helpless. I can always work on my response even if I can’t change the external circumstances. In the case of the present financial crisis I’ve tried to be informed and have written to my senator (only one right now, the other is closing up shop because he’s retiring) and congressman and am actively dealing with my anger and fear. I’m amused that I’m so angry…fear is usually my primary emotion in a situation like this. I’m practicing a new stress-management technique and will write next Sunday’s post about it. I figure if you have to go through the pain, you might as well get something out of it.
PS Teaching and writing my posts is also another way of sharing the adventure of life.
Jean Browman–Transforming Stresss last blog post..What Particle Accelerators Taught Me About Life
I lost 6 trees - but they were not native trees. We speculate that they were planted as fast growing trees along the boarder of the property, when the subdivision behind me was built.
I barely lost a twig from my native trees. Due to the location of the lost trees I will not be replacing them with trees (to close to the house really). I will be replacing them with native plants.
Kimberly Herberts last blog post..Response to Little Boxes
@Brad - Hey, I’m full of
it‘em. Now, if I could just, er, remember ‘em…I think you’re right, though. If things really went into the toilet, our lives would be so different it wouldn’t matter anyway. Someone really smart once recently pointed out that business goes in cycles all the time. We just need to be resilient.
@Jackie - Thanks for the illustration, and I’m sorry for your loss. But those are the kinds of things that temper us - sometimes without us even knowing it. then someone comes along and says something like, “How do you do it?” we look up in surprise.
As Anita pointed out, we’re a lot more resilient than we think we are, usually. And that knowledge should give us a measure of confidence.
@Joanna - Wow, that sounds like a truly “pit” of a workplace! Glad to know you managed to survive; sounds like you learned how. How so much wonderful to be now doing what you’re doing!
And I agree with you - that WAS a great line, Brad.
@Jean - I look forward to reading about your new technique, Jean. That’s an effective way of handling stress - to use it as motivation for action. I especially like your last line there:
I figure if you have to go through the pain, you might as well get something out of it.
@Kimberly - Interesting observation about the difference in how the native vs. non-native trees handled the storm, Kimberly. Thanks for sharing it with us - I appreciate the comment!
Robert,
Resilience?
Yes, even our retirement funds can point to resilience. If you’re long-term, this is a great buy cycle. Just hope history proves the markets as resilient as your banana trees (are those plantain or Cavendish? There’s a history lesson hidden there showing the resiliency of commodity markets).
-Sam
Sams last blog post..Don’t Panic
Robert, I think the inner strength is as much as important of outer strength…
No matter how hard the time could be, always remember that the sun will rise again after the stormiest wheather…
So, never lost your fate on it!
@Samuel - You’re absolutely right, Sam; those who keep their cool can always do well in a market like this. Resiliency is built into everything else, too. Relationships, jobs, you name it. Good thing, too. The inability to “give” just a little bit leads to, well, breakage, if you get my meanin’.
@Wilson - That’s true; we need to exhibit characteristic of both to survive for long. But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. We just need to be patient and look for it.
Hi.Really nice article,enjoyed reading it.
Mintys last blog post..Maria Sharapova Takes On Sony Ericson
Thanks, Minty; great to have you drop by the Zone. Come back real soon now, y’hear?
Robert,
My parents lost a huge pine tree. She is hurt. However, remember trees can be replanted we cannot.
Andrew, was your mother hurt? I’m so sorry to hear it. You make a great point, though. Thanks for dropping by!
I’m just going to say “Thankyou” for an inspiring post, good buddy. Loved the fact that ancient boatbuilders took their timber from tough locales. Helps me see the hardships in my life as wonderful gifts again. (As well as encouraging me to not go easy on my kids)
Pete Aldins last blog post..The XYZ of Aussie ABCs
You’re welcome, Pete; it’s a great lesson for all of us to keep in mind. Good to hear from you again, Bud!
Robert,
Finally got around to reading this and, as always, there’s so much wisdom in it! I was particularly struck by the fact that there’s no way to tell by their appearance which trees will survive a severe onslaught such as Hurricane Ike, because their strength comes from within. That’s a lot like people, isn’t it? Some of the most unassuming people have the greatest inner strength — enough, in fact, to surprise everyone — and many other people, who appear most powerful (or popular, or self-assured) on the outside, simply fall apart when their mettle is truly tested. There’s definitely a lesson in this! Outer strength can make us appear resilient (at least until the going gets really tough), but only inner strength can actually make us resilient. So, I know which type of strength I’m planning to work on developing! Thanks for sharing these great lessons about resilience!
Jean, you’re absolutely on target - it’s very much like people! And like you, I know which type I’m aimin’ for!