What Real Resilience Means for an Entrepreneur

Resilience is the most vital skill for an entrepreneur to thrive.

But let’s clear this up: When people in business discuss resilience, they’re usually referring to our ability to adapt to disruptions and keep going without losing assets or people.

That’s a description of survival. We all know people who have survived trials and struggles. Maybe even catastrophes. However, some of those people aren’t exactly thriving on the other side, are they?

With every disruption, every challenge, they’re knocked down a little further into the pit. They become bitter, pessimistic, and only out for No. 1 because they’re constantly afraid of the next struggle. You know people who live in the pits, right?

True resilience is about more than surviving. It’s about thriving in spite of loss, challenge, and disruption. That’s not to say that everything is hunky dory all the time. We all struggle, we all falter, and we all have days when we want to quit.

Real resilience is our ability to absorb life’s challenges and transform them into something positive or productive through our improved attitude and action.

That means on the other side of a disruption, your business survives, and you gain something you didn’t have before. Yes, you may also have losses. But you’ve learned lessons, gained new insights, or found a lot more gratitude.

Because of this new attitude and outlook, you’re able to act in new ways. Your performance increases, your influence expands, or your community broadens.

All because you, the business owner, ended up better than you were before the disruption.

The best thing about resilience? You get to share your new attitude and actions with others, increasing their resilience along the way. Knowing you’ve helped others will propel you when the next tough time hits, and you’ll have the resilience to come out better than before.

(ORIGINAL ARTICLE by Amy Anderson)