Resilient Survival
On the morning of April 19, 1995, an unexpected, unbelievable explosion shattered downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The city was never to be the same again. 168 souls were lost in a moment of time. Many of that number children.
The horrible piece of history may be found at memorialmuseum.com
A lone American Elm tree, in the parking lot near the explosion, had been burned, along with every other car parked near the tree. Many thought the tree to be damaged beyond repair and would be certainly be chopped down after evidence had been gathered for forensics.
Through the long dark days that followed the explosion, something else unexpected began to happen. As the search and recovery stretched into weeks and months, the burned tree started to grow.
Rescuers, first responders and city officials were astonished to see tiny branches emerging from the burned carcass of the tree. As time went on, the tree became the symbol of resilience and perseverance to the people of Oklahoma City. Today, the tree stands tall and strong, the scarring still visible.
Survivor Tree in early spring from author’s vantage point
placard near the Survivor Tree
What is resilience? What makes us humans resilient? Angela Duckworth wrote a tome titled, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Also a TED Talk if you’re interested.
If you’ve read this far, thank you! Don’t stop now! Keep going!
We’re about to dig into the topic of grit and figure out how grit helps us everyday.
Grit
Angela Duckworth provides such a powerful illustration of grit in her book Grit on pages 250-251.
“In 1939, Finland was the underdog in the Winter War, battling a Soviet army that boasted three times as many soldiers, thirty times as many aircraft, and a hundred times as many tanks. Finnish troops held their ground for several months—dramatically longer than the Soviets or anyone might have expected.
In 1940, Time magazine ran a feature on sisu [pronounced see-sue]:
The Finns have something they call sisu. It is a compound of bravado and bravery, of ferocity and tenacity, of the ability to keep fighting after most people would have quit, and to fight with the will to win. The Finns translate sisu as “the Finnish spirit: but it is a much more gutful word than that.”
Duckworth goes on to explain that a Finn explained to his countrymen in a feature from the New York Times entitled, “Sisu: A Word that Explains Finland:
“A typical Finn is an obstinate sort of fellow who believes in getting the better of bad fortune by proving that he can stand worse.” (Duckworth, pg. 251)
As we think of daily living and baby steps toward healing, how could we incorporate the Finnish concept of sisu?
How could we retrain our minds to keep fighting when others would have quit? How can we continue to fight the good fight of faith with the will to win?
How could we begin to produce new buds on a tree that has been so terribly scorched and left for dead?
Obviously, you are most likely already putting these pieces together in your mind. However, easier said than done.
Yep! I get that. So much.
unsplash image
There’s a Japanese saying:
Fall seven
Rise eight
How do we build a relentless pursuit of grit into our mindset?
How do we build this equation from the Grit text:
“Growth mindset-
Optimistic Self-talk-
Perseverance over Adversity”
Duckworth, page 191-192
Some examples of perseverance that Duckworth gives in her book are students in spelling bees, especially the finals. She also illustrates the resilient work of West Point cadets. Just the thought of those two examples brings so many images to our minds about the will to not quit and the strength of mind to keep going.
How do we learn that character trait? How do we learn to have more grit? More resilience?
Carol Dweck, a researcher from the Duckworth book says that our brains are remarkably adaptive. Are we forcing our brains, our minds, to be as adaptive as possible? Are we giving in too easily?
Philippians 4:19 is a verse we all know but few truly believe. When was the last time we told ourselves that we would make it through this? Whatever THIS is today? That God is greater and He will give us what we need to persevere through to the next day?
@karlahernandez
Grit Statement
As an action step for this week, get a favorite pen or marker.
Grab a piece of paper.
Write out a GRIT statement for yourself.
Something like:
You got this!
You’re gonna see this through
Keep moving
Fall down. Get up.
Crawl if you must, but keep moving forward.
Next Monday will be different!
Figure it out!
I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength
What is a growth mindset?
Are you growing? Are you intentional?
Perhaps you need to watch the TED talk from Angela Duckworth to give you some ideas for your life.
Check out The Journey from the Swamp book that I wrote to find more information about how to change our daily soundtracks that play incessantly in our minds and The Daily’s. Both of these chapters provide action steps and ways to begin the shift inside your self-talk to more positive and less hatred. We get the choice to either play a soundtrack of hatred for our self or a soundtrack that is more positive and scriptural based.
Here are some questions:
What are some toxic soundtracks, negative loops, that your mind continues to run on a daily basis?
What are you thinking about the growth, healing, and restoration that must take place in your mind?
Do you have distorted thoughts about the Word of God? Thoughts about the promises that God has given you?
Do you believe that your brain CAN rewire/renew itself as you build new thought patterns?
Do you really believe that you can be whole again? Emotionally regulated and healed?
Do you possess the vital characteristics of grit, perseverance and living as a survivor to power through to your calling, purpose and passion of living life?
Do you feel that you could learn something from the Survivor Tree or from the Finnish sisu?
How can you learn grit and perseverance? Do you give up easily? Why?
Most importantly, are you willing to keep fighting when others around you quit?
Are you passionate enough about your purpose to keep fighting one more day?
How will you survive and thrive as you live with intention and purpose?
Conclusion
Just you showing up here in a little corner of the world means so much to us!
Thank you for your time!
We’re not therapists. We’re not counselors.
Just broken folks that Jesus has redeemed from a lot of dark days.
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