I’m exploring India with a handful of good creatures as part of a Canadian delegation on Global Leadership.

We’re bringing ideas and insights for how we can build a better world. My part is a TEDx style talk on how resilience prepares us to be good leaders and deal with difficult things.

Although we live in a world full of beauty and hopefulness, sometimes life tosses us a trauma or a drama, a diagnosis or a disaster, an accident or a painful conflict. Instead of fearing these difficulties, we can begin by acknowledging that they are a natural part of the human experience.

So instead of seeking a problem-free life {there’s no such thing}, our time and energy is better spent in cultivating resilience.

If you’re creating anything {a thriving career, a healthy marriage, a loving parent-child relationship}, you already know that some days will bring pain, inconveniences, and profound stress.

This is why resilience matters so much, because a resilient heart and mind sees personal and professional difficulties as a temporary phase that can be moved through, instead of as a roadblock that must permanently derail you.

Resilient people have greater access to courage and resourcefulness.

Deeper levels of resilience means that you’re equipped to navigate any circumstance in a way that honestly processes the emotional upset you may be feeling, without allowing that upset to become ‘proof’ that you don’t have what it takes to cope and navigate the difficulty.

A resilient person occupies a growth mindset, where your skills, experience or emotional capacity is not limited or static. Instead, you recognize that you already have a wealth of tools at your disposal, and the opportunity to grow and expand is limitless.

Resilience is personal power.
Resilience is a vast energy supply.
Resilience is creative thinking and a spirit of stick-with-it-ness.

Right alongside love, resilience is probably the most powerful quality we can invest in.