How to Build Resilience in the Face of Life’s Challenges
Life is tough– there’s no one on Earth in their right mind that would disagree with that.
However, I’ve found that the conventional wisdom of “experience makes us stronger”, is a bit incorrect.
We can learn from many of our experiences throughout life and gain the resilience to weather even tougher challenges in the future as a result. However, whether we actually do this or not is largely based on your perspective and interpretation of events.
If you have the wrong perspective or are locked into a particular interpretation and can’t see any other possibility, you may very well take nothing from that experience.
To learn how to cultivate resilience in the face of life’s challenges, consistently, is a skill that has to be developed. But if you can do so, you’ll be far stronger in virtually every way because of it and able to weather the storm of life and come out happier and more at peace because of it.
Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.– Margaret Thatcher
Resilience, and general mental toughness, isn’t like weightlifting. If you lift a weight, you gain physical strength in those muscles which helped lift the weight.
However, unlike physical strength, resilience is harder to cultivate. Without the proper perspective and tools in place, you won’t gain the mental strength available to you from the metaphorical lifting of the weight (life’s experiences).
To do that, you need a few things in place. This is how to effectively build resilience in the face of life’s challenges:
Step 1: Cultivate self-awareness
Before you can ever hope to siphon strength from life’s many challenges, you need a good base of self-awareness from which to operate.
Without this, you can fall into a trap of the ego, thinking that everything which happens to you is someone else’s fault, bad luck, or a result of some other factor and that if only things would fall into place, you’d be fine.
Think of self-awareness as the foundation. With enough self-awareness, you can see clearly and therefore aren’t fooled by bias or skewed perceptions. Whether we find strength in life’s challenges is a matter of how we look at those challenges– and the only way to change our perspective is through cultivating self-awareness.
Step 2: Accept when you’re wrong (see through bias)
Once you’ve developed enough self-awareness, it’s important that as you move through life you don’t just have the ability to see clearly, but that you’re also able to accept the truth of a situation.
You might see things clearly, but if you’re unable to admit to yourself when you’ve made a mistake, you’ll never gain strength from that experience. What’s worse, you’ll have begun conditioning a very bad, and unfortunately very common, habit: blaming the world for your problems.
Step 3: Find strength in your vulnerability
It’s counterintuitive to conventional wisdom, but by opening up and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, we gain great strength. This is the last and final piece to building resilience– the kind of resilience that can’t be broken.
Admittedly, resilience is a bit of a broad term. It can refer to both our ability to persist through to completion on a task as well as the ability to stand strong in the face of challenges.
However, every shade of the term comes down to one thing: a fundamental belief in ourselves and confidence in our understanding of the world around us. And in every case, it’s this willingness to open up and be vulnerable that allows us to develop that necessary belief in ourselves.
For most of us, this is a very uncomfortable thing to do. However, the opportunities are plentiful in our daily life. The most common ones are situations or activities in which we can express ourselves, which includes everything from deciding what to wear each day all the way up to what path we pursue in our career.
It’s commonly believed that we learn and grow stronger based on our experiences, but this isn’t necessarily true. However, by following these steps, you will be able to cultivate the ideal environment for developing resilience in the face of life’s challenges.
Life is tough, there’s no doubt about it. But you can either make it tougher or easier for yourself based on your own actions. Use these steps to start developing a foundation of resilience within yourself that allows you to face life’s challenges and come out the other end happier and healthier.
Military Dad Defends His 4 Little Daughters When Strangers Make This Rude Remark
Military Dad of 4 Daughters Defends His Girls When Strangers Make This Rude Remark
Austin von Letkemann is the military officer strangers feel "sorry" for — and the reason is infuriating.
Whenever the devoted father leaves the house with his four children, strangers can't help but notice the officer in uniform is holding hands with 4 adorable little girls. They will tell the traditionally "masculine" and "all American" dad they feel sorry for him, because he has no sons. This dad makes one thing very clear: They are his daughters, they aren't a burden.
In a passionate video, von Letkemann took to Instagram to share with his followers that the only thing that's "difficult" about being a girl dad — is clapping back to these sexist remarks over and over again.
They Mock His Daughters To Their Face
When strangers approach Austin von Letkemann and his four daughters, they don't always realize that their comments are being overheard. They seem oblivious to the fact that his girls understand every word. Von Letkemann describes how people will approach him and, without thinking, make remarks like "I'm sorry" or even joke about his lack of sons. What they don't realize is that these comments, intended to be light-hearted or humorous, can be deeply hurtful to his daughters. These strangers are not just disrespecting von Letkemann's choices as a father; they're also sending a message to his daughters that their presence is something to be pitied. It’s a message that von Letkemann won't stand for, and he's speaking out to defend his girls from these insensitive remarksSaying "Get Your Shotgun" Isn't Funny — It's Sexist
Another common comment that Austin von Letkemann encounters is the old "better get your shotgun ready" trope, often delivered with a smirk or a wink. This line is typically intended to suggest that a father with daughters should be on high alert to protect them from potential "suitors," implying that they are objects to be guarded rather than individuals with agency.
Von Letkemann finds this line of thinking outdated and sexist. In his viral Instagram video, he points out that these jokes are not just stale — they're damaging.
By suggesting that his daughters require armed protection, the joke reinforces the idea that women are inherently vulnerable and need to be shielded from men. Von Letkemann argues that instead of promoting this narrative, society should focus on teaching respect and consent, challenging these sexist tropes at their source.
Watch Austin von Letkemann's Video:
"If I Had A Fifth Child, I'd HOPE It Was A Girl" — One Dad's Message For Other Parents
Despite the constant remarks about his lack of sons, Austin von Letkemann is clear: He wouldn't trade his daughters for anything.
In fact, he told his Instagram followers that if he were to have a fifth child, he would hope for another girl. This declaration isn't just about doubling down on his pride in his family — it's a pointed response to those who see fathering daughters as a misfortune.
Von Letkemann's stance is a powerful one, rejecting the notion that a family is incomplete without sons. He encourages others to question the assumptions behind these comments and to appreciate the joy and fulfillment that his daughters bring. By sharing his story, von Letkemann hopes to create a more inclusive perspective on fatherhood, one that values daughters just as much as sons.