Resilience: The Comeback You Didn’t See Coming
Resilience Isn’t About Bouncing Back—It’s About Bouncing Forward
If you’ve ever been told, “Wow, you’re so resilient!” right after life cracked your heart wide open, you’re not alone. But here’s the truth no one really talks about: resilience isn’t the moment you get knocked down—it’s the moment you choose to rise anyway.
And it’s almost never the “bounce back” people think it is.
Because when life hits you hard, you don’t go back to who you were. That version of you didn’t have the strength or the scars to handle what’s coming next.
Real resilience? It’s the comeback you didn’t see coming.
1. You’re Not Bouncing Back—You’re Bouncing Forward
When life sideswipes you with grief, illness, heartbreak, or trauma, you don’t return to “normal.” You become someone new.
That’s the gift (and the gut punch) of resilience.
You don’t bounce back to the person you were before the loss, before the diagnosis, before the breakdown. That version of you didn’t yet hold the strength you’ve now earned. The person you were before didn’t know how to navigate this yet.
When my own world unraveled in 2021—with cancer diagnoses, surgeries, the loss of my mother, and more—I didn’t recognize the person I saw in the mirror. I didn’t want to get back up.
But I did.
Because somewhere deep inside, resilience whispered, You’re not done yet.
And I want you to know: if you’re in a season where everything feels broken, where the air is heavy and hope feels like a stranger, you’re not going back—you’re moving forward.
And that’s where your power lives.
2. Vulnerability is Strength in Disguise
Let’s debunk another myth while we’re here: Resilience doesn’t mean you don’t cry.
It doesn’t mean you never ask for help.
It doesn’t mean you slap on a smile and power through.
True resilience is honest.
It’s raw.
It’s messy.
And it requires more strength to admit “I’m not okay” than to pretend that you are.
If you’re pushing yourself past the breaking point, holding it all together just to stay afloat—please hear this:
That’s not resilience.
That’s burnout.
I know this because I’ve lived it. Even now, in the middle of preparing for Radical Empowerment Live, the to-do list is long, the pressure is high, and the overwhelm is real.
But resilience means I can say:
“I need help.”
“I can’t do it all.”
“I need a day to rest.”
And I’m taking that day. With no meetings, no social media, no expectations. Just me, my dogs, my tea, and a stack of unread magazines. Because resilience is also the courage to pause.
3. You Build Your Resilience Muscle Like Any Other—One Rep at a Time
Some people think resilience is a trait—you either have it or you don’t. But the truth? Resilience is a muscle.
And like any muscle, you build it with reps.
Every time you get back up after failure.
Every time you speak kindly to yourself when things go sideways.
Every time you reframe disappointment into wisdom.
That’s a rep.
That’s growth.
You don’t need a breakdown to prove your strength—you need practice trusting yourself to get up again and again.
So here’s your resilience workout for the week:
Every night, write down one setback you faced and one lesson you learned from it.
That’s it.
One obstacle.
One takeaway.
One rep.
Do that for a week and watch what shifts inside you.
Because setbacks aren’t the end. They’re step-ups—if you let them be.
She’s thinking. She’s processing. She’s healing. This is what resilience looks like.
Conclusion: Bend with Grace. Rise with Grit.
Resilience isn’t about being unbreakable.
It’s about bending with grace and rising with grit.
It’s muddy knees and trembling hands.
It’s whispered prayers and shaky starts.
It’s standing up even when the world expects you to stay down.
You’ve done hard things before.
You’ll do them again.
And next time, you’ll do it with more faith, more wisdom—and hopefully, more laughter.
So when life hits you hard—and it will—don’t reach for the old version of yourself.
Reach for the stronger, wiser, more grounded version waiting on the other side.
You’ve got this. I see you. And I believe in you—always.