Adaptability and Resilience

 If the rainy season starts when the saplings of planted crops are tiny, it may appear to be beneficial to the saplings.  Farmers do not agree. They want the plantlets to send roots deep down in search of moisture. If the plantlets find plenty of moisture near the surface, they tend to grow shallow roots. This means that the plants grow into fragile shrubs or trees, vulnerable to storms and rain.

If saplings experience dry weather early in their life, they send roots deep into the soil. As a result, they can withstand strong winds when they are grown.

Dr. Phil McGraw, host of the talk show ‘Dr. Phil’, once said, "Everybody at some point is going to have adversity. I think if we don't learn from that, then it was just a penalty. But if you use it, then it becomes tuition." 

At meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, participants recite the Serenity Prayer: "God grant me the courage to change what I can, the strength to accept what I can't, and the wisdom to know the difference."

The owner of a tree plantation wanted to protect his young trees, without taking the trouble to build a proper fence. He simply strung barbed wire between the outermost trees and hammered the wire into their bark. Some of the trees accepted the injuries caused by the barbed wire and grew tall and healthy. Other trees could not accept the disfigurement and became stunted. The trees that accepted the wire, were able to transcend the misfortune of being hammered during their youth.

When faced with adverse circumstances, the true spirit and character of a person emerges. Often, the person develops resilience to challenging situations, and sails through the storm, staying afloat regardless of everything that is trying to drown them.

Resilient people find the energy to move forward despite the dead weight of problems that bog them down. They tackle one challenge at a time, thus developing an ability to address what appears to be a colossal problem.

A common trait of resilient people is to search within themselves, to change their own approach or outlook towards the external problem.

Finally, resilient people are able to find humour in their own difficulties. As the eminent psychologist Gordon W. Allport once said, "So many tangles in life are ultimately hopeless that we have no appropriate sword other than laughter."