Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit. – Bern Williams

We are resilient, we truly are.  As a species we face setbacks, and tragedies, and still we not only survive, we bounce back and we thrive.  Honestly, we’re kind of amazing. But what exactly does it mean to be resilient?  It means being able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. If that doesn’t describe humanity, I don’t know what does.

This awesome article says that resilient people do not let adversity define them, and that is so true. Crappy things happen, and they happen frequently.  It’s not fun, and in fact, it stinks, but when those things knock us down, we pick ourselves up and keep on going.  Why? Because we are resilient.  It doesn’t mean that we don’t get depressed or let down, or angry or hurt. Of course we do, we’re not walking talking perpetually happy machines.  When things happen that aren’t great, it’s okay to get mad, or sad.  It’s okay to get angry and have a hissy fit, or a full on temper tantrum.  But then, that’s when amazing things start to happen.  That’s when it’s time to look at what happened, and why (if there is a why) and figure out a way to fix it, or to move past it.

We are resilient.  We really are.  There have been people in absolutely horrible circumstances that have found a way to survive them and move on to have wonderful lives.  Your attitude is one of the greatest tools you have.  When you have a positive attitude, you can and will bounce back so much quicker.  Remember that when life tosses those speed bumps in your way, that you can handle them because you are resilient.