Is it time to move beyond the idea of resiliency? Is it holding us back?
Maybe resilience isn’t enough. At least not if we’re seeking our full potential
After all, resilience is about being able to bounce back from stress. To return to your original form or position.
What if instead of returning to your original form, you used adversity to come out better?
Nicholas Nassim Taleb, author of Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, coined the term, ‘antifragile.’
He says, “Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty.”
“Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.”
Under antifragility, systems build extra capacity when put under stress.
Exercise is an example.
When you push yourself to do one more rep, the tissue in your muscles is broken down.
Overnight your body overcompensates for this shock, building your muscles even stronger.
We can set ourselves up for antifragility in the face of stress. Not just to stay strong or come back to strength, but to grow even stronger. To build capacity.
Many people ask, ‘What should I learn from this?’ when under stress.
A more open-ended question that shifts the perspective to using adversity to build capacity is, ‘What can I learn from this?’
Taleb tells the story of Hercules fighting the multi-headed monster, Hydra. When he slices off one of her heads, 2 grow back.
Every time the beast is hurt, it comes back stronger.
Beyond resiliency is a game-changer. It opens a new world of possibilities.
#PersonalDevelopment #ConsciousnessShift #Success #LeadershipDevelopment #Resiliency