Resilience - Bouncing Back From Hard Things

The character trait we will be focusing on for the next couple weeks is Resilience.  Parents, I'd encourage you to share stories with your kids about how you or someone you know have shown resilience in your life.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back after difficult or challenging things.  An object that is resilient will bend, but won’t break.  A resilient person will do the same.

A resilient person can bounce back from hard things.  I like to think of resilience like a rubber band.  You can squish it and it won't break.  You can stretch it quite a bit and it won't break.  In fact, because a rubber band is resilient, when stretched it will spring back and you can use that pent-up energy for good.  Maybe you can make a little car or machine go with it, or you can launch something.

Not everything in school or in life will be easy.  Not everything in life is fair.  Some things are upsetting.  When those hard things happen, be resilient.  Bounce back and be just as strong as you were before.  Go a step further, and, like a rubber band or like a spring, use that bouncing back for something good.

As an object lesson, I like this model and slow-motion video that demonstrate what happens with the shape of a ball, when it hits a hard object.

Credit: KT+ Tangent Stiffness and More

Photo Credits (In order of use):

• https://neerjasekhon.wordpress.com/2015/11/19/does-failure-bend-or-break-you-developing-resilience/
• https://www.gauravsprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/compression-springs.jpg
• https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-c9535f2db5288d92410bac38130c74bd-c
• http://kt2008plus.blogspot.com/2014/03/4d-impact-of-ball-in-slow-motion-golf.html