Resilience for Today and Prosilience for Tomorrow

“If only it were possible for us to see farther than our knowledge reaches, and even a little beyond the outworks of our presentiment, perhaps we would bear our sadness with greater trust than we have in our joys.”

Rainer Maria Rilke: Letters to a Young Poet

This past week I’ve had several friends relate some pretty serious disappointments. We’ve all been there. And of course it’s easy for me to tell them that someday – probably someday soon – they will look back and say that it was the best thing that could have happened. At an intellectual level my friends can believe that, but it’s hard to hold onto that as a Memory of the Future. As one friend told me, he knows that when one door closes another door opens, but it can be hell in the hallway in between the two.

Friday’s Promise of The Self Empowerment Pledge says: I will face rejection and failure with courage, awareness and perseverance, making these experiences the platform for future acceptance and success. (Learn more about the PledgePower course at this link – be sure to review the detailed course outline).

The title of Harold Kushner’s classic book is When Bad Things Happen to Good People. When, not if. The challenge is to recognize – as soon as possible – when those bad things will really turn out to be good things.

Resilience is what helps you bounce back stronger and wiser every time you fall down.

Prosilience – prospective resilience – is preparing yourself for those inevitable falls so that when they happen you face them with courage, awareness and perseverance and make the experience the platform for the good things that may come in their wake.