#49 - First Anniversary

First Anniversary

I published the first post of the Resilience Institute on September 24th, 2023, on Facebook and LinkedIn. It evolved over time, and since the beginning of 2024, I have migrated all the content to a dedicated website: https://www.resilienceinstitute.info/.

I thought the website might become, over time, a repository of resilience insights and expand beyond blog articles. Access to the older posts is also much easier via the website than on social media.

I managed to write 48 articles since then, which is almost one post per week. In the middle of 2024, I added a section with summaries of important books. This section is developing very slowly—maybe too slowly right now—but it should become an important part of the website over time.

The first year of writing articles was very demanding. My expertise in the area was more practical than academic, so enhancing my knowledge of resilience and its various aspects was challenging. I still consider myself at the beginning of the journey, although I've made a promising start. And I enjoy every single step of it.

5 Learnings on Resilience

1. Resilience Starts with Individuals Resilience, defined as the capacity of any system to manage change and continue to develop, is a broad concept stretching from individuals through organizations up to the entire planet. However, it all starts with individuals—not only their personal resilience but also their knowledge and skills to drive resilient solutions in organizations and understand their impact on the planet.

2. Resilience Can Be Developed Resilience is not a characteristic with which any system is born; it can be developed. One of the fundamental features of resilient systems is the ability to continuously learn. This is a very positive message: we can become more resilient over time if we invest time in learning. The resilience of ourselves and our organizations is in our own hands, and our personal traits do not impede anyone's resilience capabilities.

3. Testing Boundaries Enhances Resilience The best way to improve resilience is to constantly test our boundaries, which means going beyond our comfort zone. For example, taking on new challenges at work, seeking critical feedback, or embracing changes rather than clinging to stability can significantly boost our resilience.

4. Diversity and Interconnections Are Key Apart from learning, fundamental features of resilience include diversity and interconnections. Resilience is not the realm of strong leaders, saviors, or geniuses; it is the realm of strong communities, interconnected and collaborating in a variety of ways, where leaders are as famous as the President of Switzerland.

5. Accepting Reality Is the Starting Point I organized resilience insights around four pillars: Accepting Reality, Finding Meaning, Improvisation, and Preparing for Headwinds. Accepting Reality is where it all starts, and it is also the most difficult part of the journey. For instance, acknowledging the true state of a challenging situation without denial enables us to address it effectively. I spent a fair amount of time writing about cognitive biases, feedback, and decision processes, and I think of this as the key place to begin.

5 Personal Learnings

1. One Small Step at a Time At the beginning, I had many doubts, conflicting ideas, and questions. Focusing on making the next small step helped me steadily move forward. It's important to start small when you're trying to do something very different from your previous experience.

2. The Power of Routine Making a commitment to write an article every week creates engagement and focus. After some time, it becomes part of your weekly routine, which you simply follow and make happen.

3. Writing Enhances Personal Growth Writing about my passion helped me to develop and grow. I had to reflect, read, and put my thoughts together to write something that captured my views in a way I was satisfied with. This process enhanced my understanding of the area and broadened my perspective on the subject.

4. Focus on Yourself for Authenticity Thinking too much about other people's views adversely impacts the quality of your writing. It worked best for me last year when I genuinely liked the piece; it felt much more authentic and real. While the audience is important, people appreciate genuine and authentic voices, which requires focusing on your true self.

5. It's Never Too Late to Start I am a slow starter; there are many things I started later than other people. I was an older candidate when I became a pilot, and now I am an older blog creator, and I can tell you—it still tastes great. "Too late" exists only in your head; if you want to try, just try and enjoy the ride.

I hope to maintain stamina and focus and will continue to write at the same pace. I'm actually in a place where the number of ideas for new articles, coming from you, new readings and thoughts, is growing so fast that the challenge is no longer finding topics but rather selecting them and finding the time to work on them.

Stay with me; I promise I will work even harder to make it worth your time.

Discover the science of resilience: the key to thriving in a changing world. My weekly posts explore how resilient individuals and organizations adapt and evolve. Gain evidence-based insights to boost resilience across domains. Join the growing community of forward-thinking readers at https://www.resilienceinstitute.info/.