Redefining Resilience

When I ran track in school, the team was divided into distance runners and sprinters.  A study recently came out suggesting that we have a default individual speed, and it's at the point at which we "burn the most energy without burning excess calories."  That would mean that pushing ourselves past a certain speed is counter-intuitive to our bodies' welfare.

This lesson, if true, may transfer well to the general human condition of the past few pandemic years.  You should only go as fast as is productive to your bodies' longterm abilities.  Pushing yourself past that point is counter-intuitive, and yet, we continue to judge ourselves according to pre-pandemic measures of productivity.

Resilience is measured differently for each person.  Pulling yourself out of the pandemic energy void is going to take longer for some than others.

For those in charge of teams, you may have noticed this difference already.  One person is not weaker than another because they have are on a different resilience track.  Ask people what they need and address these needs on an individual basis when possible.  My experience in my teaching studio has been that the students who seemed more effected by the pandemic in the beginning took longer to recover, but they produced consistently afterwards.  The students who tried to keep the same pace eventually seemed to burn out and were unproductive for an extended period of time.

Run your own race at your own speed.


Dr. Nancy Williams is a music educator and leadership life coach who specializes in helping creatives build cultures of joy and empowerment through self-awareness and increased confidence.  Get her free guide "3 Ways to Beat Imposter Syndrome" and receive weekly emails of inspiration and leadership tips.

Leave a comment